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THE 


FEEDING  OF    FARM   ANIMALS 


BY 


CHARLES  WILLIAM  BURKETT, 

Professor  of   Agriculture,  North   Carolina  College  of   Agriculture 
and  the  Mechanic  Arts. 


# 


RALEIOH: 

Edwards  <&  Broughton. 

1  902 


COPYRIGHT,    1902. 
BY  CHARLES   WM.   BURKETT. 


TO    MY     FATHER. 


PREFACE. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  present  in  a 
logical  manner  the  more  important  factors  that 
must  be  considered  in  the  successful  feeding  of 
farm  animals. 

It  is  an  effort  to  present  the  more  important 
facts  fundamental  to  the  art  of  feeding. 

The  author  has  attempted,  throughout  the 
book,  to  present  the  truths  of  science  in  simple 
language,  and  to  use  only  such  technical  terms 
as  are  absolutely  necessary 

It  is  to  bring  before  the  feeder  and  the  student 
the  simple  scientific  truths  of  nutrition  and 
their  practical  application  to  feeding  farm  ani- 
mals that  this  little  book  appears. 

C.  W.  B. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

CHAPTER  1 9 

Introductory;  Feeding  Farm  Animals. 

CHAPTER  n, 12 

The  Soil— The  Plant— The  Animal ;  The  Farm  and 
Animals;  Soil  Improvement  and  Stock  Raising 
Go  Hand-in-Hand. 

CHAPTER  HI, 19 

Constituents  of  Feeding  Stuffs  ;  Building  Plant  Tissue  ; 
The  Meaning  of  Plant-Building;  Other  Constitu- 
ents. 

CHAPTER  IV, 26 

The  Digestion  of  Food  ;  The  Stomach  ;  How  Diges- 
tion Takes  Place  ;  Circulation  and  Respiration. 

CHAPTER  V .         .         .32 

The  Conditions  Influencing  the  Digestion  of  Food ; 
Palatability  ;  The  Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs ; 
Steaming  Foods  ;  Cooking  Foods  ;  Early  and  Late 
Cut  Hay  ;  Green  and  Dry  Fodders. 

CHAPTER  VI,       . .37 

Composition  of  Animals,  Animal  and  Plant  Com- 
pounds ;  What  These  Terms  Mean  ;  What  the 
Compounds  Do  ;  Classification  of  Uses  of  Com- 
pounds. 

CHAPTER  VII 43 

The  Digestible  Nutrients  in  Feeding  Stuffs  ;  Why  We 
Balance  Rations  ;  Coeflficient  of  Digestibility  ;  Per- 
centage Digestible  ;  Total  Digestible  Nutrients  ; 
Digestible  Nutrients  in  Prominent  Feeding  Stuffs ; 
Tables. 


CONTENTS.  7 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  Vlir 51 

Some  Scientific  Terms;  Nutritive  Ratio ;  How  Deter- 
mined ;  Terms  Applied  to  Rations  ;  Feeding  Stand- 
ards ;  Why  We  Use  Them ;  German  Feeding 
Standards. 

CHAPTER  IX, 58 

The  Compounding  of  Rations ;  Purposes  of  Food ; 
How  a  Ration  is  Made ;  Dairy  Ration. 

CHAPTER  X 64 

Ration  for  the  Beef  Animal;  How  it  is  Made;  First 
and  Second  Trials;  Errors  in  Feeding  Beef  Cattle. 

CHAPTE/R  XI, 69 

Ration  for  Horses;  General  Facts  ;  The  Horse  Uses 
Less  Roughage  ;  A  Horse  Ration  ;  Kinds  of  Feed 
that  May  be  Used. 

CHAPTER  XII, 73 

Feeding  Young  Animals;  Milk;  Nature  Widens  the 
Ration  ;  A  Point  in  Practice  ;  Whole  and  Skim 
Milk;  Feeding  of  Young  Animals ;  Calf  Feeds. 

CHAPTER  XIII, 79 

The  Cost  of  Nutrients  ;  The  Selection  of  Feeding  Ma- 
terials ;  Protein  Not  Solely  Purchased ;  Uses  of 
Protein  ;  Grouping  of  Feeding  Stuffs  ;  Practical 
Suggestions. 

CHAPTER  XIV,  85 

The  Cost  of  Nutrients  (continued)  ;  The  Purchase  of 
Protein  ;  The  Purchase  on  Basis  of  Total  Digesti- 
ble Nutrients  ;  Roughage  in  Relation  to  Protein. 

CHAPTER  XV,  92 

Prodiiction  of  Roughage  Materials  ;  Crops  in  Relation 
to  Soil  and  Climate  ;  Crops  in  Relation  to  Line  of 
Business ;  The  Home  Production  of  Protein  ;  The 
Growing  of  Crops  that  Have  Power  of  Producing 
Greatest  Quantity  of  Digestible  Dry  Matter. 

CHAPTER  XVI,  99 

The  Silo  and  Ensilage  ;  What  Ensilage  Is  ;  Economy 
of  Ensilage  ;  Capacity  of  Silos  ;  Feeding  Ensi- 
lage ;   Crops  for  Ensilage. 


8  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  XVII 104 

Soiling  Crops;  Why  We  Need  Soiling  Crops;  Corn 
the  Basis  for  Soiling  ;  Soiling  to  Take  the  Place  of 
Pasture  ;  Rotation  for  Soiling  Crops  ;  Advantages 
of  Soiling;  Objections  to  Soiling;  Soiling  Best 
Adapted  to  Dairying. 

CHAPTER  XVIir, Ill 

Feeding  Breeding  Animals;  The  Cow;  At  Calving 
Time  ;  The  Brood  Sow  ;  The  Mare  ;  The  Ewe. 

CHAPTER  XIX 116 

Feeding  Stuffs  in  Relation  to  Manure  Produced  ;  Ma- 
nures in  Relation  to  Farming ;  Double  Value  Se- 
cured by  Feeding  ;  Manurial  Values  of  Important 
Feeding  Stuffs ;  A  Point  in  Practice  ;  The  Need  of 
Live  Stock. 

CHAPTER  XX i2t 

The  Feeding  of  Poultry  ;  Feeding  Little  Chickens  ; 
Green  Food  Needed  ;  Feeding  for  Eggs ;  Common 
Feeding  Stuffs;  Feeding  for  Meat;  Feeding 
Breeding  Stock. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Feeding  Farm  Animals. 

The  history  of  agriculture  is  simply  the  rise 
and  progress  of  our  race.  In  the  ascent  of  man 
from  the  stages  of  savagery  and  barbarism,  he 
associated  himself  with  the  tending  of  flocks 
and  herds.  The  earliest  stage  of  any  agricul- 
ture was  the  pasturing  of  the  subjugated  ani- 
mals. Man  at  first  supplied  his  wants  by  kill- 
ing wild  animals  and  gathering  fruits,  the  real 
natural  products  of  the  country.  When  this 
was  no  longer  possible,  animals  were  tamed 
and  kept  in  herds.  Cattle,  sheep  and  goats 
were  easily  tended  in  this  manner.  In  fact, 
to-day  the  nomads  of  Asia  and  South  America 
practice  agriculture  in  this  pastoral  way.  At 
first  there  was  an  abundance  of  land  for  this  pur- 
pose, but  as  soon  as  the  population  increased 
so  that  it  encroached  on  this  free  practice,  a 
higher  system  of  agriculture  followed.  The 
Biblical  accounts  are  ver}^  vivid  in  showing 
how  the  people  fell  to  fighting  when  there  was 
no  longer  room  for  people  to  wander  at  will. 
Later  came  the  cultivation  of  forage  crops  ;  and 
we  can  only  imagine  what  was  cultivated  dur- 
ing the  most  ancient  times. 
2 

PJWFElTTr  UtnARY 


lO  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

The  early  civilization  of  Egypt  was  rural  in 
its  nature,  and  the  people  became  settled  in 
their  life  and  cultivated  their  natural  meadows 
and  raised  crops  for  their  horses  and  oxen, 
while  the  practice  of  raising  various  kinds  of 
grains  and  roots  was  followed.  It  is  the  same 
in  the  history  of  Greece,  Rome,  England  and 
continental  Europe. 

America  presents  a  somewhat  different  agri- 
culture. The  red  man  had  no  domesticated 
animal  save  the  dog  and  the  squaw.  Pasture 
lands  belonged  to  the  buffalo  and  the  deer. 
Even  with  us,  progress  has  been  simple  and 
slow.  With  the  colonist,  however,  came  the 
various  classes  of  live  stock;  their  increase  has 
followed  until  to-day  domestic  animals  are  a 
fixed  feature  of  every  system  'of  farming. 
Wild  game  for  meat  and  clothing  has  disap- 
peared, and  so  one  of  the  great  problems  before 
every  husbandman  to-day  is  the  production  of 
meat  and  milk  and  wool  and  labor  at  the  least 
cost. 

He  must  know,  therefore,  not  only  what  kinds 
of  forage  crops  to  produce,  but  he  must  know 
as  well  how  to  feed  these  crops  to  each  class  of 
animals  in  a  scientific  manner,  so  as  to  do  it  in 
an  economical  way. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  ii 

NOTE  PAGE  FOR  STUDENT'S  USE. 


12  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  Soil — The  Plant — The  Animal. 

There  is  a  close  relation  between  the  soil,  the 
plant  and  the  animal.  One  cannot  exist  with- 
out the  others  to  fulfill  its  destiny  within  its 
name.  A  soil  without  plant  or  animal  growth 
is  barren,  devoid  of  life,  as  shown  by  the  great 
desert  of  Northern  Africa. 

Nature  is  simple  in  this  relationship.  First 
the  soil  with  its  many  elements,  and  the  air  to 
furnish '  the  fourteen  that  are  present  in  the 
plant  and  animal.  These  elements  are  the  very 
basis  of  plant  and  animal  life.  The  body  of  the 
animal  is  made  up  of  the  identical  elements 
found  in  the  plant,  yet  the  growth  of  the  plant 
is  necessary  to  furnish  food  for  all  animal  life. 
The  plant  takes  from  the  soil  and  the  air  the 
simple  single  chemical  elements  such  as  nitro- 
gen, oxygen,  hydrogen,  carbon,  phosphorous, 
sulphur,  chlorine,  potassium,  sodium,  calcium, 
magnesium,  aluminium,  iron  and  silicon,  and 
with  these  builds  up  plant  tissue,  which,  in  its 
turn,  is  the  food  of  the  animal.  The  animal 
could  not  feed  from  the  soil  and  air;  it  required 
the  plant  to  take  these  elements  and  build  them 


FEEDING  FARM  ANIMALS.  13 

into  tissue  first.  From  this  plant  tissue,  the 
animal  gets  its  food  for  maintenance  and 
growth.  Then  the  animal  dies:  with  its  decay 
and  decomposition  come  the  change  of  animal 
tissue  back  to  the  soil  and  air  again — back  to 
single  simple  elements  that  new  plants  may 
grow;  that  new  plant  tissue  may  be  made  for 
another  generation  of  animal  life.  Thus  the 
plant  grows  out  of  the  soil  and  the  air  and  the 
decay  of  animal  and  plant  life  to  furnish  food 
for  the  plant,  that  the  plant  may  furnish  food 
for  the  animal.  Thus  we  see  the  cycle  of  life: 
from  the  soil  comes  the  plant;  from  the  plant 
comes  the  animal,  and  from  the  animal  come 
the  soil  constituents. 

The  Farm  and  Animals. 

A  successful  agriculture  and  the  feeding  of 
farm  animals  are  dependent  upon  three  condi- 
tions: 

I.  A  soil  rich  in  single  simple  elements  for 
the  free  growth  of  plant  life. 

II.  The  adaptation  of  plant  life  to  climatic 
and  soil  environments,  so  as  to  produce  from  the 
elements  in  the  soil  the  largest  growth  of  de- 
sirable plant  life  for  animal  food. 

III.  The  feeding  of  animal  life  to  produce 


14  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

greatest  growth  and  highest  quality  of  meat 
and  milk  or  wool  and  labor  with  the  least  ex- 
penditure of  plant  tissue. 

The  farmer,  to  make  agriculture  renumera- 
tive,  must  adapt  himself  to  what  falls  within 
these  three  lines.  He  must  enrich  the  soil. 
He  must  aid  Nature  in  her  efforts  to  change 
the  unavailable  plant  food  into  an  assimable 
form.  Before  the  plant  or  animal  died  it  was 
unavailable  for  plant  food.  The  soil  holds 
locked-up  food  in  the  same  way.  We  see  this 
same  idea  expressed  in  the  method  of  preserv- 
ing fruit  and  vegetables.  A  farmer's  wife  takes 
the  tomato,  for  instance,  and  after  preparing  it, 
puts  it  in  the  tomato  can  and  seals  it  up  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  it  from  decay  and  decomposi- 
tion. Now  that  is  the  same  way  we  have  treat- 
ed our  soils:  we  have  canned  them  up,  so  to 
speak,  by  taking  out  organic  matter,  by-  shal- 
low plowing,  and  by  carelessness  in  tillage,  un- 
til these  soils  are  hard  and  baked  and  dead  to 
such  an  extent  that  air  no  longer  enters  freely, 
and  consequently  the  unavailable  plant  food  is 
not  rendered  assimable. 

If  we  start  the  plow  and  turn  it  loose  in  these 
soils,  and  carefully  and  thoroughly  till  and 
cultivate    and    get    organic    matter  back  into 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  1 5 

them  by  growing  cow  peas  and  clover,  and 
adding  manures,  they  will  quickly  change 
from  their  unproductive  condition  into  the 
kinds  that  will  produce  remunerative  crops. 
This  matter  of  soil  improvement  is  mentioned 
here  because  upon  it  successful  husbandry  and 
stock-raising  rests.  With  a  poor  soil,  we  have 
poor  crops  or  poor  plant  growth,  which  means 
poor  livestock  on  the  farm. 

Soil  Improvement  and  Stock  Raising  go 
Hand-in-Hand. 

The  ideal  agriculture  maintains  itself;  there- 
fore every  system  of  farming  should  consist  of 
both  plant  production  and  the  feeding  of  ani- 
mals. We  see  the  importance  of  this  proposi- 
tion in  three  ways  : 

I.  We  need  clover,  cow  peas,  alfalfa  and 
other  legumes  to  build  up  the  soil.  But  these 
are  the  very  kinds  of  crops  we  want  for  horses, 
cattle,  sheep  and  swine.  We  should  grow  these 
crops  then  to  improve  the  soil  and  thereby  get 
larger  yields  of  grain,  forage  and  grass  crops  to 
obtain  plants  rich  in  feeding  constituents. 

II.  We  need  natural  manures  and  fertilizers 
for  improving  the  soil.  The  more  livestock  we 
have,  the  greater  the  quantity  of  manures  pro- 


1 6  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

duced.  The  commercial  fertilizer  bill  i§  our 
greatest  tax,  and  it  is  to  a  great  extent  unneces- 
sary, for  if  business-like  agriculture  is  followed, 
chemicals  will  be  needed  only  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent. It  should  be  our  policy  to  purchase  fer- 
tilizers in  the  form  of  feeding  stuffs.  Take  a 
dollar  and  purchase  your  cotton-seed  meal  or 
bran  or  gluten,  but  instead  of  applying  them 
direct  to  the  soil  as  the  source  of  nitrogen  in  the 
fertilizer,  first  feed  them  to  livestock  and  get 
the  value  of  the  organized  condition  of  the  ele- 
ments. The  important  difference  between  plant 
food  or  fertilizers  and  animal  food  or  plants,  lies 
in  the  fact  that  the  plant  takes  the  unorgan- 
ized chemical  elements  and  manufactures  or 
builds  them  into  organized  tissue,  which  is  the 
plant  or  the  fruit  of  the  plant.  We  can  feed 
the  plant  or  the  fruit  of  the  plant  then  to  live- 
stock, and  get  meal  or  milk  or  wool  or  labor 
from  the  organized  tissue,  and  the  animal  re- 
turns to  the  soil  the  very  chemical  elements  that 
the  plant  originally  contained,  only  in  a  disor- 
ganized condition,  which  is  the  only  way  plants 
can  use  them  for  new  growth.  Thus  the  plant 
feeds  the  animal,  the  animal  feeds  the  plant. 

III.  The  animal  changes  raw  materials  into 
finished  products.  The  feeder  can  take  corn, 
grass,  cow  peas,  clover,  bran   and   cotton-seed 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  1 7 

meal  and  make  balanced  rations  for  all  classes 
of  livestock.  These  are  simply  raw  materials, 
which  command  the  lowest  prices  when  placed 
on  the  markets  of  the  world.  An  increased 
value  follows  their  change  into  a  finished  pro- 
duct. A  dairy  cow  can  be  fed  a  mixture  of 
twenty-five  pounds  of  corn  stover,  cowpea  hay 
and  cotton-seed  meal,  which  has  a  value  of  but 
ten  cents  and  from  that  she  will  produce  two 
pounds  of  butter  worth  fifty.  The  increased 
value  is  the  result  of  the  change  from  the  raw 
material  into  the  finished  product. 


l8  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

NOTE  PAGE   FOR  STUDENT'S  USE. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  1 9 

CHAPTER  III. 


Constituents  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 

When  the  plant  ^rows  it  makes  use  of  the 
elements  of  the  soil  and  the  air.  The  plant 
itself  is  made  up  of  myriads  of  cells,  which  con- 
tinue to  increase  in  number  as  the  plant  be- 
comes larger.  In  a  simple  way  the  cell  is  an 
enclosed  sac,  holding  within  it  the  juices  and 
other  substances  necessary  for  its  enlargement 
and  growth.  The  cell  walls  are  made  up  of  a 
woody  substance  called  cellulose,  which  is  thin 
and  tender  in  green  and  growing  plants,  but  be- 
comes hard  and  woody  as  the  plant  matures. 
The  roots,  trunk,  leaves  and  all  other  parts  of 
the  plant  are  made  up  of  just  these  kinds  of 
cells.  Plant  food  in  the  soil  becomes  soluble 
in  soil  moisture  and  passes  up  through  the  roots 
to  all  parts  of  the  plant.  This  soluble  plant 
food  in  the  cells  is  met  by  the  carbon  which 
also  comes  into  the  cells,  not  through  the  roots, 
however,  but  through  the  leaves,  and  thus  we 
find  all  of  the  single  simple  elements  in  the 
plant  cells  ready  to  be  made  into  plant  tissue. 
These  elements  are  not  free  to  themselves 
when  they  are  taken  into  the  roots  or  leaves, 
but  enter  in  different  combined  forms ;  oxygen 


20  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

being  the  only  one  that,  perhaps,  is  utilized  in 
a  small  way  in  elemental  form. 

Building  Plant  Tissue 

The  plant  cells  are  responsible  for  the  build- 
ing of  tissue  and  the  formation  of  compounds 
in  the  plant  or  the  fruit  of  the  plant.  Every 
live  active  cell  contains  protoplasm,  the  real 
life  of  the  cell.  When  the  soluble  soil  ma- 
terials, which  we  call  plant  food,  has  been  carried 
up  through  the  long  channels  of  cells,  reaches 
the  leaves,  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  car- 
bonic acid  gas  that  entered  the  cells  of  the  leaf 
through  the  mouths  of  the  leaf,  and  there  these 
various  compounds  are  decomposed  through  the 
action  of  heat  and  sunlight  and  protoplasm  and 
chlorophyl,  with  the  effect  of  making  a  mole- 
cule of  starch  from  the  water  and  carbonic  acid 
gas.  Where  the  starch  grains  are  found,  some 
of  them  are  changed  by  the  protoplasm  into 
sugar,  which  is  readily  soluble,  to  be  transferred 
by  diffusion  from  cell  to  cell,  and  left  in  those 
cells  which  need  it  most. 

The  formation  of  protein  constituents  is  still 
more  complex  than  starch.  In  a  general  way 
it  may  be  said  that  starch  or  some  starch  deriv- 
ative is  united  in  the  cells  with  the  nitrates  and 
sulphur  that  have  been  brought  in  the  plant 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  21 

from  the  soil.  The  protoplasm  has,  doubtless, 
broken  up  the  nitrates  in  the  active  cells,  mak- 
the  latter  able  to  unite  with  the  starch,  with  the 
result  that  a  protein  compound  is  formed. 

Fat  is  made  from  the  same  chemical  elements 
that  enter  into  the  building  of  the  starch  grains. 
Starch  is  made  from  carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxy- 
gen. Fat  is  made  from  the  same  elements,  but 
has  a  large  proportion  of  carbon  and  hydrogen 
•and  a  small  number  of  oxygen  atoms.  While 
all  plants  contain  some  fat  or  oil  in  their  woody 
tissue,  the  great  bulk  of  the  oil  or  fat  is  built 
in  the  seed  or  fruit  of  the  plant. 

Protein  is  made  from  starch  derivatives 
united  with  nitrates  and  sulphur,  as  explained 
above.  Thus,  we  find  that  carbon,  hydrogen 
and  oxygen  from  the  starch,  and  nitrogen  and 
sulphur  from  the  soil  constituents  enter  into 
protein  building. 

The  Meaning  of  Plant-building. 

Before  the  single  simple  elements  were  taken 
into  the  plant,  they  were  of  little  value.  The 
animal  could  not  use  them  for  food ;  they  could 
not  be  burned  to  furnish  heat;  and  they  stored 
up  no  energy  to  carry  on  any  of  the  world's  work . 
What  a  change  the  plant  makes  of  them,  how- 
ever; these  elements,  without  value  in  the  soil 


22  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

and  air,  when  taken  into  the  plant  and  built 
into  tissue,  at  once  become  of  vast  importance. 
Primarily,  they  become  the  source  of  all  ani- 
mal food.  Without  them  no  animal  life  could 
exist,  because  animals  either  get  their  food 
from  plants  entirely  or  by  eating  other  animals 
that  depended  for  food  upon  plant  life. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  the  above  that 
starch,  protein  and  fat  are  the  only  constituents 
found  in  the  plant,  neither  should  it  be  con- 
sidered that  they  are  the  only  important  ones. 
This  idea  is  common  because  of  the  complex 
nature  of  their  building. 

Other  Constituents. 

Ash  is  found  in  every  form  of  plant  life.  One 
readily  recognizes  this  constituent  when  burn- 
ing takes  place.  The  organized  condition  has 
been  destroyed,  and  the  ash  remains.  This 
goes  to  make  up  the  bone  material  of  the  ani- 
mal, and  while  the  quantity  is  small,  it  ordina- 
rily furnishes  a  sufl&cient  quantity  for  bone  and 
tissue  structure  in  the  animal.  Sodium  and 
chlorine  usually  are  deficient  in  feeding  stuffs, 
but  are  readily  supplied  in  the  form  of  common 
salt.  Poor  teeth,  small  and  weak  bones  in  chil- 
dren and  domestic  animals  follow  when  not 
enough  ash  material  is  furnished  in  food.     Va- 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  23 

riation  iti  food,  and  the  use  of  coarse  and 
roughage  food  usually  corrects  this  condition. 
Water  is  always  found  in  plants.  The  young 
growing  plant  contains  often  three-fourths  of 
its  weight  as  water,  or  more.  Root  crops  con- 
tain even  more ;  this  explains  to  us  why  water 
in  the  soil  is  so  important  for  the  production 
of  good  crops. 

The  plant  not  only  must  have  the  water, 
but  it  is  the  only  way  for  plant  food  to  get 
into  the  plant.  Water  serves  as  a  carrier  for 
taking  up  through  the  roots  all  the  plant  food 
for  the  growth  of  the  plant.  Dew  or  rain  on 
the  plant,  consequently,  have  no  effect  on  the 
growth.  The  water  must  be  in  the  soil,  and 
enter  the  plant  through  the  roots,  carrying 
with  it  plant  food  thai  is  in  solution,  and  which 
can  be  distributed  in  the  plant  when  it  is  needed. 

Crude  fiber  serves  as  the  framework  of  the 
plant.  It  is  made  of  the  same  elements  as 
starch  and  in  a  similar  way.  Young  growing 
plants  are  tender  because  the  crude  fiber  is  ten- 
der. As  the  plant  matures  the  fiber  hardens, 
and  becomes  tough  as  we  find  it  in  hay,  corn- 
stover  or  trees,  etc. 

From  this  explanation  we  are  warranted  in 
dividing  plant  constituents  into  the  following 
classes : 


24  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

I.  Ash. 
II.   Water. 

III.  Nitrogen  compounds    or    protein    com- 

pounds. 

IV.  Nitrogen-free  compounds. 

1.  Starch. 

2.  Crude  fiber. 

3.  Sugar,  gums,  etc. 
V.   Ether  extract,  or  fat. 

The  reader  will  recognize  readily  now  the  re- 
lation between  the  plant  and  the  soil.  Instead  of 
soil  and  air  elements  which  the  plant  had  to  be- 
gin with,  we  see  a  different  system  of  grouping. 
The  several  elements  which  have  been  grouped 
as  ash,  carbon,  hydrogen,  ox3^gen,  nitrogen  and 
sulphur  are  no  longer  considered  as  single 
elements,  but  now  are  known  as  protein  com- 
pounds;  likewise  other  atoms  of  carbon,  oxy- 
gen and  hydrogen  have  gone  to  build,  some 
starch  and  fiber  grains  and  others  oils  or  fat. 
The  plant  is  now  produced  ready  to  be  used  as 
food  for  the  support  of  animal  life. 


fHPBrrr  ubmakt 
n.  C.  State  College 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  25 

SOIL  AND  AIR.  PLANTS.  ANIMALS. 


26  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 


The  Digestion  of  Food. 

Before  the  different  constituents  found  in  the 
plant,  as  explained  in  the  preceding  chapter,  can 
be  used  for  food  for  animals,  they  must  be 
prepared  for  absorption  into  the  system  of  the 
animal.  This  preparation  takes  place  in  the 
mouth,  the  oesophagus  tube,  the  stomach,  the 
intestines,  aided  by  the  various  secretions  in- 
cident to  digestion  and  absorption. 

Food  is  taken  into  the  mouth,  where  it  is 
masticated  by  means  of  the  teeth,  lips,  cheeks, 
and  the  tongue.  While  the  process  of  masti- 
cation is  taking  place,  there  is  being  poured 
into  the  mouth  large  quantities  of  saliva  which 
softens  the  food  and  starts  the  process  of  diges- 
tion. The  active  principle  of  saliva  is  a  soluble 
ferment  called  ptyalin  that  converts  the  starch 
of  food  into  sugar.  The  amount  of  saliva  that 
is  poured  into  the  food  is  very  great,  being 
often  as  much  as  one-tenth  of  the  weight  of  the 
animal.  This  ferment  is  active  after  the  teeth 
have  been  formed,  which  explains  why  it  is  not 
advisable  to  feed  much  starchy  food  to  children 
before  their  teeth  have  begun  development. 

The  food  after  being  ground  and  mixed  with 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  27 

the  saliva  fluid  goes  to  the  stomach.  With  the 
horse  and  hog  the  stomach  is  a  single  sac,  not 
capable  of  holding  very  large  quantities  of  food  ; 
with  the  cow  and  sheep,  on  the  other  hand,  we 
find  a  larger  capacity  for  holding  food  and  this 
is  divided  into  four  compartments — the  rumen 
or  paunch,  reticulum,  omasum,  and  the  ab- 
omasum. 

The  first  is  simply  a  storehouse,  where  food 
is  placed  until  it  is  thrown  back  to  the  mouth 
for  further  mastication. 

This  act  is  the  popular  idea  of  chewing  the 
cud,  and  simply  refers  to  rechewing  the  food, 
so  as  to  get  it  finer  and  better  ground  for  diges- 
tion. The  food,  after  coming  from  the  mouth 
the  second  time,  passes  either  through  the  re- 
ticulum, or  omasum,  to  the  abomasum,  or  the 
true  stomach,  where  the  digestion  continues. 
While  in  the  stomach  the  saliva  continues  the 
digestion  of  the  starchy  matter,  and  is  assisted 
by  the  gastric  fluid  that  pours  in  from  the  lin- 
ing of  the  stomach,  which  converts  the  protein  oi;- 
albuminoids  into  peptones.  The  fatty  matter 
is  not  acted  upon  at  this  point. 

There  are  three  constituents  of  the  gastric 
juice  which  effect  changes  in  the  food;  pepsin, 
rennet  and  acid. 

It  should  be  noted  here,  also,  that  no  secre- 


28  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

tions  enter  the  first  three  divisions  of  the  rumi- 
nant^s  stomach,  but  only  in  the  fourth  or  true 
stomach. 

While  food  is  in  the  stomach  it  is  subjected 
to  a  constant  churning  movement  that  causes 
it  to  travel  from  the  entrance  to  the  exit  or 
intestine.  When  it  passes  into  the  small  in- 
testine it  is  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  bile^ 
and  the  pancreatic  juices,  which  have  princi- 
pally to  do  with  breaking  up  the  fat  compounds. 
Both  resemble  to  a  certain  extent  saliva  in  their 
ability  to  change  starch  into  sugar.  The  se- 
cretion of  the  bile  comes  from  the  liver  and 
the  pancreatic  j  nice  from  the  pancreas  or  "sweet- 
breads," and  both  are  poured  into  the  intes- 
tine near  the  same  point,  so  that  they  act  to- 
gether. The  ferments  they  contain  act  in  the 
following  ways  :  changing  starch  into  sugar^ 
splitting  fat  into  fatty  acids,  curdling  milk,  and 
converting  protein  compounds  into  soluble 
peptones. 

This  brief  and  general  explanation  shows 
us  how  digestion  takes  place.  While  all  these 
fluids  have  been  at  work,  and  the  food  broken 
up  by  them, there  has  been  no  absorption  in  the 
system.  Up  to  this  point  the  food  is  really 
without  the  body  ;  nor  is  there  any  entrance  or 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  29 

opening  for  it  to  get  into  the  body  save  through 
the  cells  that  line  the  whole  digestive  tract. 

If  we  will  go  back  a  moment,  we  will  recall 
that  plant  food  was  taken  up  through  the  roots 
through  the  cells  when  it  was  in  a  soluble  state; 
in  the  same  way  the  digested  food,  because 
it  is  broken  up  and  soluble,  readily  diffuses 
through  the  cell  walls  that  line  the  stomach 
and  intestines,  and  is  collected  into  the  body 
system. 

Circulation  and  Respiration  in  the 
Body. 

As  water  in  the  plant  is  the  carrier  of  plant 
food  throughout  the  plant,  so  is  blood  the 
carrier  and  distributor  of  food  in  the  animal. 
When  food  is  absorbed,  it  either  passes  into  the 
lymphatic  system  or  the  capillaries  of  the  blood 
system.  If  in  the  former,  it  is  carried  to  the 
thoracic  duct,  which  extends  along  the  spinal 
column  and  enters  one  of  the  main  blood  ves- 
sels. If  collected  by  the  capillary  system,  it  is 
carried  to  the  portal  vein,  thence  to  the  liver, 
and  finally  to  the  heart,  where  it  is  poured,  with 
the  blue  blood  that  has  been  collected  from  all 
parts  of  the  body.  At  this  point  the  blood  con- 
tains both  nutriment  and  the  waste  matter  of  the 
body.     Before  it  can  be  sent  through  the  body 


30  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

system  again,  the  waste  matter  must  be  renew- 
ed. This  is  accomplished  by  the  heart  forcing 
to  the  lungs  the  impure  blood  with  its  impur- 
ities collected  from  all  parts  of  the  body,  and 
also  the  nutriment  collected  from  the  digestive 
tract.  When  the  blood  returns  from  the  lungs 
to  the  heart  it  is  free  of  broken-down  tissue,  but 
filled  with  oxygen  and  what  nutriment  that 
was  previously  absorbed  into  the  system. 
There  is  seen  here  another  relation  between 
plant  and  animal  function.  When  the  plant 
was  building  tissue  it  released  oxygen,  exhal- 
ing it  in  the  air,  but  took  in  through  its  leaves 
carbonic  acid  gas  from  the  air.  The  animal 
when  building  tissue  breathed  in  oxygen  from 
the  air  but  exhaled  carbonic  acid  gas,  thus  giv-  ' 
ing  to  plant  life  what  was  needed  for  its  growth 
and  receiving  in  return  what  is  necessary  for 
its  own  nutrition  and  life. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  3 1 

What  saliva  does : 


What  the  gastric  juice  does: 


What  the  pancreatic  juice  does 


What  the  bile  does 


32  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

CHAPTER  V. 


Conditions  Influencing  the  Digestion  of 
Food. 

When  a  plant  is  young  and  tender  it  is  agree- 
able to  the  taste  of  the  animal.  There  is  little 
woody  tissue  in  this  state  of  growth,  which 
suggests  a  more  favorable  condition  for  diges- 
tion and  assimilation  in  the  animal  system.  Be- 
sides, it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  an  appetizing 
ration  would  be  more  readily  appropriated  than 
one  which  neither  tempts  the  taste  nor  in- 
creases the  appetite.  Many  a  feeder  owes  his 
success  to  his  ability  in  preparing  the  food 
placed  before  his  animals  in  a  wholesome  and 
agreeable  manner.  Hunger  will  make  animals 
partake  of  the  food  set  before  them,  but  nothing 
the  feeder  can  do  will  make  the  same  animals 
eat  a  quantity  of  unappetizing  food  sufficient 
for  maintenance  and  profitable  growth  or  milk 
production;  and  since  growth  and  production 
result  from  food  consumed  it  follows  that  flavor 
and  taste  are  important,  even  though  they  add 
nothing  to  the  energ}^  or  building  capacity  of 
a  feeding  stuff. 

In  a  general  way  it  may  be  said,  also,  that  an 
animal  will  digest  as  high  a  per  cent  of  food 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  33 

eaten  when  it  is  eating  its  full  capacity  as 
when  placed  on  but  half  the  quantity  it  might 
be  able  to  eat.  Rapid  growth  and  full  milk 
flow  therefore  follow  when  the  animal  eats 
large  quantities  of  food,  showing  again  that 
palatableness  is  quite  necessary  for  the  most 
profitable  feeding. 

The  Preparation  of  Feeding  Stuffs. 

Since  the  feeder  is  concerned  in  the  highest 
digestibility  of  his  feeding  stuffs,  he  is  inter- 
ested in  their  preparation  to  produce  the  most 
economical  returns.  While  it  is  true  that  many 
things  can  be  done  to  increase  the  digestibility 
of  feed,  it  does  not  always  follow  it  is  good  bus- 
iness management  to  do  so.  For  instance  the 
grinding  of  food  may  mean  the  saving  of  eight 
or  ten  per  cent,  yet  the  labor  of  hauling  to  and 
from  the  mill  and  the  cost  for  grinding  may 
mean  a  less  saving  in  the  end.  Every  reader 
must  determine  these  factors  for  himself  for  no 
set-and-dried  rules  will  apply  to  all  alike.  Quite 
a  number  of  feeding  experiments  have  been 
made  to  determine  the  effect  of  grinding  on  the 
digestibility,  and  practically  all  have  showed 
more  or  less  marked  gains.  Ruminants,  as  a 
rule,  are  more  likely  to  masticate  their  food  in 
a  thorough  way.     Yet  the  student  knows  that 


34  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

many  whole  kernels  of  corn  often  are  voided  in 
the  feces. 

Steaming  and  Cooking  Foods. 

A  great  many  devices  are  on  the  market  for 
the  preparation  of  materials  for  feeding  the 
various  classes  of  farm  animals.  The  labor 
and  expense  connected  with  the  practice  is 
usually  unwarranted  and  uneconomical. 

Professor  Jordan,  discussing  the  matter,  says: 
"The  conclusions  of  German  experimenters 
have  been  that  these  special  treatments,"  such 
as  wetting,  steaming,  cooking,  and  fermenting, 
"have  no  favorable  influence,  their  effect  being 
either  imperceptible  or  unfavorable.  The  ex- 
tensive trials  by  Kuhn  and  others  with  hay 
and  bran  ration,  the  bran  being  fed  in  several 
conditions,  such  as  dry,  wet,  moistened  some 
hours  before  feeding,  treated  with  boiling  water 
and  fermented,  gave  results  adverse  to  all  the 
special  methods  of  preparation  as  either  useless 
or  harmful,  and  no  testimony  so  thorough  and 
convincing  has  been  furnished  on  the  other 
side." 

Early  and  Late  Cut  Hay. 

Early  cut  hay  is  richer  in  protein  and  con- 
tains less  crude  fiber  than  that  cut  when  in  a 
more  mature  state.    The  increased  weight  due 


FEEDING   FARM    ANIMALS.  35 

to  longer  growth  is  chiefly  in  the  substance  cel- 
lulose. x\s  the  plant  ripens,  the  more  nutri- 
tious compounds  go  to  the  seed  and  leave  the 
feeding  part  of  the  hay  plant  less  valuable. 

The  best  time  for  cutting  hay  is  when  the 
plants  are  in  blossom;  the  nutritious  com- 
pounds at  this  time  are  distributed  more  in  the 
plants,  and  there  is  correspondingly  less  woody 
tissue. 

Green  and  Dry  Fodders. 

A  green  fodder  is  no  more  digestible  than 
the  same  forage  carefully  preserved  by  drying. 
The  general  impression  that  the  opposite  is 
true  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  much  of 
the  more  valuable  parts  is  lost  in  curing. 
This  is  especially  true  with  clover  and  cow  pea 
hays.  The  leaves  readily  break  off  in  prepar- 
ing for  the  stack  or  mow  and  much  of  the  feed- 
ing value  is  lost. 


36  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

Tables  showing  comparisons  in  preparation  of 
feeds : 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  37 

CHAPTER  VI. 


Composition  of  Animals. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  different  sub- 
stances found  in  the  animal  body  which  may  be 
grouped  under  four  heads  : 

I.  Water. 

II.  Ash,  or  mineral  matters. 

III.  Protein. 

IV.  Fat. 

We  also  found  these  same  constituents  in 
the  plant  with  some  additional  substance  like 
starch,  sugar,  gums,  etc.,  that  the  chemist  calls 
carbohydrates,  thus  making  the  grouping  of 
plants  as  follows : 

I.  Water. 

II.  Ash. 

III.  Protein. 

IV.  Fat. 

V.  Carbohydrates. 

So  far  as  composition  goes,  then,  the  only 
difference  between  plants  and  animals  is  that 
the  former  contains  carbohydrates,  and  the 
latter  do  not. 

More  than  half  of  the  entire  weight  of  the 


38  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

animal  body  is  water.  It  is  contained  in  all 
parts  of  the  body,  and  is  as  essential  for  the  de- 
velopment of  solid  tissue  as  any  of  the  other 
ingredients.  Young  and  growing  animals, 
like  young  and  growing  plants,  contain  the 
highest  per  cent  of  water.  As  the  animal  ma- 
tures, the  proportion  of  water  diminishes  until 
it  reaches  about  one-half  the  total  weight. 

The  ash  material,  which  is  essential  for  bone 
and  body  tissue,  amounts  in  the  animal  body  to 
from  two  to  five   per  cent  of  the  live  weight. 

The  supply  of  ash  is  especially  needed  for 
young  and  growing  animals  for  bone  develop- 
ment ;  serious  consequences  follow  if  the  food 
stuffs  do  not  supply  the  necessary  ash  ingre- 
dients. Protein  in  the  animal  is  understood  by 
the  type  as  represented  by  the  white  of  an  egg  or 
lean  meat.  The  same  chemical  constituents 
are  found  here  as  in  plant  protein.  The  or- 
ganic part  of  the  bones,  the  skin,  the  internal 
organs,  the  brain  and  nerves — in  short,  all  the 
working  machinery  of  the  bod}^ — are  composed 
largely  of  protein. 

Fat  in  the  animal  body  is  also  made  up  of 
the  same  chemical  elements  as  the  fat  of  the 
plant.  The  quantity  in  the  animal  body  varies 
in  proportion  to  the  condition  of  the  animal  as 
popularly  expressed  by  being  fat  or  lean. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  39 

What  These  Terms  Mean. 

From  what  has  been  said  one  readily  sees 
that  protein  simply  means  that  constituent  of 
a  feeding  stuff,  that  when  fed  to  an  animal 
goes  to  furnish  protein  in  the  animal  body,  or 
in  other  words  furnish  the  constituent  to  build 
up  tissue,  blood,  brain  and  nerves,  the  internal 
organs,  skin,  etc.,  and  to  supply  the  waste  in 
the  body.  Fat  and  carbohydrates  on  the  other 
hand,  because  they  do  not  contain  nitrogen  in 
their  composition,  cannot  supply  protein  in  the 
body  ;  their  work  is  to  furnish  fat  in  the  animal 
body  and  heat  and  muscular  energy. 

Ash  and  water,  being  so  simple  and  so  easily 
supplied,  will  not  require  discussion  or  expla- 
nation here. 

What  These  Compounds  Do. 
There  is  a  continual  breaking  down  of  tissue 
in  the  animal;  it  requires  protein  to  supply 
this.  Every  beat  of  the  heart,  every  expansion 
of  the  lungs,  every  circuit  of  the  blood,  the 
secretion  of  digestive  juices,  all  cause  a  waste 
or  breaking-up  of  tissue,  which  must  be  con- 
stantly supplied  if  health  is  to  follow.  There 
must  be  a  continual  supply  of  protein  to  supply 
this  waste.  If  the  supply  simply  satisfies  the 
waste,  the  weight  of  the  animal  will  remain 


40  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

unchanged.  When  the  supply  is  liberal  and 
exceeds  the  demands  of  the  system,  material 
may  be  stored  in  the  body  by  the  formation  of 
fat  or  flesh  and  the  animal  will  gain  in  weight. 

Another  necessity  of  food  is  to  keep  the  ani- 
mal warm.  As  wood  is  put  in  the  stove  to 
make  heat,  so  food  is  taken  into  the  animal 
system  to  furnish  heat  at  an  almost  constant 
temperature.  The  carbohydrates  and  fat  of  food 
mainly  supply  heat  constituents  for  the  animal 
body.  These  same  ingredients  are  the  primar}' 
sources  of  fat  and  muscular  energy  in  the  ani- 
mal system ;  yet  protein  often  assists  in  this. 

From  this  explanation  we  deduce  the  follow^- 
ing: 

Protein  in  food  furnishes  in  the  animal  bod}^ — 
f  Blood. 

I    Protein   ^^  ^^^ernal  organs. 

j  Nervous  system. 

t  Flesh,  etc."^ 
2.  Heat. 
3-  Fat. 
4.   Muscular  energy. 

The  fat  of  food  furnishes  in  the  animal  bod}^ — 

1.  Fat. 

2.  ^Heat. 

3.  Muscular  energy. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  41 

The   carbohydrates    of  food   furnishes  in   the 
animal  body — 

1.  Fat. 

2.  Heat. 

3.  Muscular  energy. 


42  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

Tables  showing  composition  of  animal  body 


FEEDING   FARM    ANIMALS.  43 

CHAPTER  VII. 


The  Digestible  Nutrients  in  Feeding 
Stuffs. 

If  all  our  feeding  stuffs  contained  the  proper 
proportion  of  digestible  protein,  digestible  fat 
and  digestible  carbohydrates  for  the  use  and 
support  of  the  body  as  well  as  for  increase  and 
growth,  there  would  be  no  need  of  compound- 
ing rations  for  our  various  classes  of  farm  ani- 
mals. The  feeding  of  no  single  feeding  stuff 
will  furnish  the  required  quantities  of  the 
three  important  constituents ;  we  need  to  com- 
bine them  and  in  proper  proportions  to  get 
economical  and  desirable  results. 

Before  we  are  able  to  do  this  we  must  know 
the  composition  and  the  digestibility  of  the 
feeding  materials.  This  has  been  determined  by 
chemical  analysis  and  digestive  experiments 
of  all  the  important  feeding  stuffs.  The  table 
following  shows  what  is  included  in  this: 


44  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

TABLE  L 


Total  Composition  of  Several  Common  Feeding  Stuffs 
IN  loo  Pounds. 


Feeding  Stuff. 

Percentage  Com- 
position. 

Nitrogen- 

Ether 

Prcein.       ^^^ 

'ZlT  !  E-t-C 

Corn  stover— field  cured 

Cow  pea  hay 

Red  clover  hay  .           _   _ 

3-8          19.7 
16.  6         20.  I 
12.3          24.8 

5-9         29. 

4.2  '       46.3 
10.3           2.2 
15-4  :        9. 
42. 3           5-6 
18.  4         23.  2 

315         II 

42.  2    t               2.  2 

^8.  I             ^1 

Timothy  hay 

Cotton  seed'hulls 

Corn-dest ^ 

Wheat  bran 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Cotton  seed 

45. 

33-4 

70.4 

53.9 
23.6 

24.7 

2.5 
2.  2 

5. 

4. 

13- I 
19.9 

This  table  shows  the  total  number  of  pounds 
of  each  constituent  in  one  hundred  pounds  of 
feeding  stuff.  We  notice  that  the  amount  of 
protein  varies  from  3.8  pounds  in  corn  stover 
to  42.3  pounds  in  cotton  seed  meal;  likewise 
in  respect  to  crude  fiber,  there  are  but  2.2 
pounds  of  this  constituent  in  corn,  but  46.3 
pounds  of  it  in  cotton  seed  hulls.  The  great- 
est variation  is  with  nitrogen-free  extract, 
which  varies  from  23.6  pounds  in  cotton  seed 
meal  to  70.4  pounds  in  corn.  There  is  also 
much  difference  in  the  ether  extract,  as  one 
notices  but  i.i  pounds  in  corn  stover,  but  as 
much  as  19.9  pounds  in  cotton  seed. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  45 

The  Student  must  not  infer  from  this  that 
all  of  these  amounts  are  digested  and  assimi- 
lated in  the  animal  body,  on  the  contrary,  only 
about  half  of  the  total  constituents  are  digested. 
This  gives  rise  to  a  study  of  digestibility  in 
respect  to  the  various  food  stuffs.  Through  a 
series  of  digestive  experiments,  the  animal 
physiologist  has  determined  the  percentage  of 
the  various  constituents,  digested  by  farm  ani- 
mals. 

Coefficients  of  Digestibility. 

These  various  percentages  are  known  in  a 
scientific  way  by  the  term  coefficients  of  diges- 
tibility. Without  knowing  these  digestive 
coefficients,  the  feeder  would  be  unable  to  ascer- 
tain the  relative  feeding  values  of  the  food 
stuffs  at  his  command. 

The  table  following  shows  the  average  coeffi- 
cients of  digestibility  of  the  feeding  stuffs  given 
in  the  preceding  table: 


46 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


TABLE  IL 


Percentage  Digestibility 

• 

Feeding  Stuff. 

Protein 

Crude 
Fiber. 

Nitrogen- 
free  Ex- 
tract. 

Ether  Ex- 
tract. 

Corn  stover- -field  cured 

Cow  pea  hay 

Red  clover  hay 

Timothy  hay 

Cotton  seed  hulls 

Corn-dest 

45 
65 
55 
48 
6 
76 
79 
88 
68 

67 

H 
46 

52 

47 

58 

22 

32 

76 

61 
71 
64 
63 
34 

?^ 
69 

64 

50 

62 
50 
53 
60 

79 
86 

Wheat  bran 

68 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Cotton  seed -. 

93 

87 

From  this  table  we  notice  a  decided  variation 
in  the  percentage  of  digestible  matter.  Of  the 
protein  in  cotton  seed  hulls,  only  six  per  cent 
is  digested,  while  there  is  as  much  as  79  per 
cent  of  the  ether  extract  or  fat  that  is  diges- 
tible. 


Total  Digestible  Nutrients  in  a  Feed- 
ing Stuff. 

Since  we  have  learned  the  composition  of 
feeding  stuffs  and  the  percentage  digestibility, 
we  are  in  a  position  to  consider  the  quantity  of 
each  constituent  that  is  digestible  in  a  feeding 
stuff.  This  is  readily  done  by  multiplying  its 
composition  by  the  coefficient  of  digestibility 
for  each  constituent. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


47 


For  example,  corn  stover  contains  3.8  pounds 
of  protein,  as  seen  by  referring  to  Table  I,  of 
which  45  per  cent  is  digestible,  as  shown  in 
Table  II,  or  1.7  pounds  of  digestible  protein  in 
100  pounds  of  corn  stover. 

The  total  digestible  nutrients  are  determined 
in  this  way  for  each  substance  which  gives  rise 
to  a  third  table  showing  the  total  quantities  of 
nutrients  in  the  several  feeding  stuffs. 


TABLE  III. 


Feeding  Stuff. 


Corn  stover 

Cow  pea  hay 

Red  clover  hay 

Timothy  hay 

Cotton  seed  hulls 

Corn 

Wheat  bran 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Cottonseed 


Total  Digestible  Xutrients  in  loo 
Pounds. 


Protein. 


1-7 

10.8 

6.8 

2.8 

0.3 

7.8 

12.  2 

37-2 

12.5 


Carbohy- 
drates. 


32.4 
38.6 
35.8 
43.4 
33-1 
66.7 
39-2 
16.  9 
30.0 


Ether  Ex- 
tract. 


0.7 
I.  I 
1.7 
1-5 
1.7 
4.3 
2.7 
12.  2 
17-3 


We  have  grouped  crude  fiber  and  nitrogen- 
free  extract  under  one  head  in  this  table. 
They  stand  for  the  same  thing  in  a  feeding 
stuff  and  from  now  on,  in  the  discussion  of  this 
subject,  we  will  know  the  two  considered  to- 
gether under  the  term  carbohydrates. 


48  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

Digestive  Nutrients  in  Prominent  Feed- 
ing Stuffs. 

The  composition  and  digestion  coefficients 
have  been  determined  for  practically  all  of  our 
feeding  stuffs,  consequentl}^  the  making  of 
rations  is  not  a  difficult  problem.  For  this 
purpose  the  more  common  feeds,  with  their 
digestible  nutrients,  are  given  here  in  connec- 
tion with  the  two  subjects  treated  in  this  chap- 
ter. Those  not  given  can  readily  be  obtained 
from  the  publications  issued  b}^  the  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  Agriculture.  The  list  following 
contains  the  more  common  and  important  ones, 
or  those  the  average  feeder  has  to  deal  with 
under  the  ordinar}^  feeding  conditions.  A  col- 
umn containing  the  dry  matter  in  each  ico 
pounds  of  substance  is  also  given,  the  impor- 
tance of  which  will  be  seen  in  a  succeeding 
chapter: 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


49 


Average  Digestible  Nutrients   in  American   Feeding 
Stuffs  * 


Feeding  Stuff. 


CONCENTRATES. 

Corn 

Corn  and  cob  meal 

Gluten  meal — 

Gluten  feed 

Wheat ___. 

Wheat  bran 

Wheat  middlings 

Rye 

Barley 

Oats 

Rice 

Rice  hulls 

Rice  bran 

KafBr  corn 

Cotton  seed 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Cotton  seed  hulls 

Peanut  meal    — 

Soja  bean 

Cow  pea  

Linseed  meal  (new)  _- 
Brewers'  grain  (dry)  _. 

roughage. 

Corn  stover-field  cured 

Timothy  hay 

Soja  bean  hay 

Oat  straw 

Red  clover  hay 

Alfalfa  hay 

Cow  pea  hay 

Pea  vine  straw 

Corn  ensilage-- 

Crab  grass  

Cows'  milk 

Skim  milk 

Buttermilk 

Oat  hay. 


Dry  Mat- 
ter in  loo 
Pounds 


89.  I 

84.9 
89.6 
92 
89 


87. 
91- 
90. 


89, 

91 

88 

89 

89 

85 

89.9 

91.8 


Digestible  Nutrients  in  100 
Pounds. 


Protein. 


59-5 
86.8 
88.7 
90.8 
84.7 
91.  6 

89-3 
86.4 
20.  9 

89.3 

12.8 

9.6 

9-9 
91.  I 


7.9 

4.4 

9.0 

20.  4 

10.  2 

12.  2 

12.8 

9-9 

8.7 

9.2 

4.8 

1.6 

3 
8 

5 
2 

3 
9 
6 


5 

!■ 

12 

37' 
o 
42 
29 
r8.3 
28.2 
15-7 


1-7 

2.8 

10.8 

I.  2 

6.8 

i[.  o 

10.8 

4-3 

o. 

2. 

3- 

3. 

3- 

4. 


Carbohy- 
drates. 


66.7 
60.0 
61.2 

48.4 
69.  2 

39-2 
53- o 
67.6 
65.6 

47-3 
72.  2 

44-5 
45-  I 
57-1 
30.0 
16.  9 

33.  I 
22.8 
22.3 
54.2 
40.  I 
36.  3 


32.4 

43-4 

38.7 

38.6 

35.8 

39-6 

38.6 

32.3 

II. 3 

47-  I 

4-9 

4.7 

4.0 

46.4 


*  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 


50  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

Additional  feeding  stuffs  : 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  5I 

CHAPTER  VIII. 


Some  Scientific  Terms  in  Feeding. 

The  student  has  now  in  mind  something  as 
to  the  meaning  as  well  as  the  uses  in  the  ani- 
mal body  of  protein,  carbohydrates  and  fat. 
The  greater  part  of  the  practice  of  feeding  is 
concerned  with  these  three  constituents,  conse- 
quently they  are  deserving  our  most  careful 
attention.  The  relation  of  one  to  the  others  in 
feeding  problems  gives  rise  to  the  several  terms 
associated  with  the  compounding  of  rations. 

Nutritive  Ratio. 

If  one  knows  the  relative  proportion  of  the 
nutrients  of  a  feeding  stuff,  he  is  able  to  esti- 
mate to  a  certain  extent  its  feeding  value.  This 
gives  rise  to  the  term  nutritive  ratio,  which  is 
simply  the  relation  in  quantity  of  the  digesti- 
ble protein  to  the  digestible  carbohydrates  and 
fat.  This  ratio  is  determined  by  reducing  the 
fat  to  its  carbohydrate  equivalent,  then  adding 
this  to  the  quantity  of  digestible  carbohydrates 
and  dividing  by  the  number  representing  the 
protein  quantity. 

Fat  being  more  concentrated,  so  to  speak, 
has  a  greater  heat  and  energy  value  than  the 


52  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

carbohydrates.  This  difference  is  represented 
by  the  figures  2.4 ;  that  is,  one  pound  of  digesti- 
ble fat  is  equivalent  to  2.4  pounds  of  digesti- 
ble carbohydrates. 

Let  us  turn  back  to  Table  I  and  determine 
the  nutritive  ratio  of  corn  stover.  We  see  b}^ 
the  table  that  corn  stover  contains  in  each  100, 
1.7  pounds  of  digestible  protein,  32.4  pounds 
digestible  carbohydrates  and  0.7  pounds  of  di- 
gestible fat.  We  reduce  the  fat  to  its  carbo- 
hydrate equivalent  by  multiplying  it  by  the 
constant  and  authoritively-taken  factor  2.4  and 
we  get  as  the  product  1.68,  which  means  that  0.7 
pounds  of  fat  is  equivalent  to  1.68  pounds  of  car- 
bohydrates to  produce  heat  and  energy.  Now, 
since  we  have  reduced  the  fat  to  carbohydrates 
we  can  add  it  to  the  total  amount  of  carboh}^- 
drates  which  gives  us  34  08  pounds  of  carbohy- 
drates. This  sum  divided  by  number  represent- 
ing the  protein  1.7  gives  us  the  nutritive  ratio 
or  20  pounds  of  carbohydrates  for  every  pound 
of  protein  in  that  feeding  stuff.  In  the  form 
of  proportion  we  have  the  following: 

(i)    Protein:  carbohydrates:   :   i   :  x,  or 

(2)  1.7   :    (32.4  X   1.68)   :   :   I   :   X,  or 

(3)  ^'1  '  34-o8  :  :   I   :    20  +. 
This  proportion  is  expressed,  then,  by  sa}^- 

ing  the  nutritive  ratio  of  corn  stover  is  i  to  20. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  53 

Terms  Applied  to  Rations. 

When  an  animal  is  receiving  the  necessary 
quantities  of  protein,  carbohydrates  and  fat,  or 
the  nutrients  in  proper  proportions,  its  ration 
is  "balanced". 

Since  no  single  feeding  stuff  contains  the 
proper  quantities  of  protein,  carbohydrates  and 
fat  in  a  balanced  way,  the  "compounding  of 
rations"  is  necessary.  This  means  the  feeder 
gives  certain  quantities  of  different  feeding 
stuffs  in  order  to  furnish  the  required  amounts 
of  nutrients  to  properly  nurture  farm  animals. 
Referring  to  Table  III  the  student  notices  that 
some  foods  are  rich  in  protein,  others  low  in 
protein  and  others  high  or  low  in  carbohy- 
drates and  fat. 

When  a  feeding  stuff  is  high  in  protein  and 
correspondingly  low  in  carbohydrates  and  fat, 
it  is  said  to  be  "narrow";  if  it  is  the  reverse 
to  this,  that  is,  low  in  protein  and  relatively 
high  in  carbohj^drates  and  fat,  it  is  "wide." 

Feeding  Standards. 

In  order  to  make-up  rations  for  the  various 
classes  of  farm  animals,  the  student  must  know 
the  quantity  and  the  proportion  of  the  nutri- 
ents to  feed  in  the  daily  ration. 

This  question  has  been  met  by  what  feeding 
investigators  call  the  feeding  standard,  which 
is  simply  a  guide  to  show  the  quantities  of  nu- 


54  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

trients  to  be  fed.  A  dry  dairy  cow,  for  instance, 
does  not  require  as  large  a  quantity  of  protein, 
carbohydrates  and  fat  as  one  in  full  flow  of 
milk.  We  may  say  a  dry  cow  is  giving  no 
milk  and  is  at  rest  in  the  stall,  therefore,  re- 
quires little  food.  This  is  true,  if  it  expresses 
the  sense  that  she  requires  a  quantity  of  digesti- 
ble nutrients  necessary  for  her  maintenance. 
It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  work  is  going 
on  all  the  time;  the  heart  continues  to  beat,  the 
lungs  to  expand,  the  digestive  organs  to  secrete, 
and  then  fuel  must  be  burned  in  the  body  to 
keep  up  the  body  heat — all  this  is  the  expres- 
sion of  work  and  constantly  calls  for  food  nu- 
trients for  repair  material,  heat  and  energy.  If 
more  food  is  furnished  than  is  necessary  for 
this  maintenance  of  the  body,  the  animal  in- 
creases in  weight.  If  too  little  food  is  given, 
then  the  reverse  follows,  and  the  animal  loses 
in  weight  and  becomes,  in  the  popular  expres- 
sion "poor." 

The  feeding  standard,  being  a  guide,  shows 
the  feeder  the  quantities  of  each  nutrient  re- 
quired in  the  bod}^,  not  only  for  maintenance 
and  support,  but  also  for  milk  or  beef,  wool  or 
mutton,  and  labor.  It  should  be  noted  here 
that  each  class  of  animals  requires  a  different 
standard.     A  cow  that  is  giving  but  a  small 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


55 


amount  of  milk  does  not  require  as  much  di- 
gestible protein  in  her  daily  ration  as  one  giv- 
ing a  heavy  flow.  Likewise  a  ration  for  fatten- 
ing cattle  is  different  from  that  given  horses 
doing  the  farm  work.  It  will  be  seen  from  this 
that  the  practice  of  feeding  is  not  only  an  in- 
teresting art,  but  one  that  calls  also  for  skill 
and  training. 

The  table  following  is  an  example  of  feed- 
ing standards,  showing  the  amount  of  dry  mat- 
ter and  digestible  nutrients  required  daily  by 
farm  animals  per  i,ooo  pounds  live  weight: 


Wolf-Lehmann  Fee 

DING   STA 

NDARD. 

Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Protein. 

Carbo- 
hydrates 

Ether 
Extract. 

Milch  Cows- 
Cow  giving  no  milk, 

at  rest  in  stall 

Daily  milk    yield  ii 

pounds 

18. 

25- 
29. 

30. 
30. 
26. 

30. 
28. 
24. 

36. 
32. 
25. 

.7 
1.6 

2.5 

2.5 

3.0 
2.7 

3-0 
3-5 
2.  0 

4-5 
4.0 
2.7 

8.C 

10.  0 

13.0 

15- 0 
14.5 
15.0 

15- 0 

14.5 
II. 0 

25.0 
24.  0 
18.0 

0.  I 

Daily  milk    yield    22 
pounds 

.  5 

Fattening  Cattle- 
First  period 

.  5 

Second  period 

Third  period 

Sheep — Fattening — 
First  period        _    _     . 

.7 
.7 

.  5 

Second  period 

Horses — medium  work. 
Swine — Fattening — 

First  period 

Second  period  _ 

Third  period 

.6 
.6 

.7 
•5 
.4 

56  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

As  Stated  above,  these  standards  are  based  on 
the  weight  of  the  animal  being  1,000  pounds 
live  weight.  In  case  of  animals  weighing  less, 
as  sheep  and  swine,  the  quantity  given  should 
represent  this  proportion.  A  sheep,  for  in- 
stance, weighing  100  pounds  would  be  fed  just 
one-tenth  the  quantity  represented  in  the  feed- 
ing standard.  A  cow  weighing  800  pounds 
would  be  given  four-fifths  of  the  quantity  called 
for  in  the  standard.  In  the  same  way  if  an 
animal  weighs  above  the  standard  limit,  then 
the  quantity  should  be  proportionally  increas- 
ed;  a  cow  weighing,  for  instance,  1,100  pounds 
would  be  given  one  and  one-tenth  the  amount 
called  for  by  the  standard. 

In  reference  to  feeding  standards,  Jordan 
says:  "They  are  intended  to  apply  to  animals 
of  average  size,  fed  under  normal  conditions. 
They  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  feeding  receipts, 
but  are  to  be  varied  according  to  circumstances. 
Small  animals  should  receive  proportionately 
more  food  than  large  ones;  milch  cows  in  pro- 
portion to  the  quantity  and  the  richness  of  the 
milk ;  growing  and  fattening  according  to  the 
rapidity  of  increase  desired;  work  animals  ac- 
cording to  the  severity  of  labor,  and  individual 
animals  according  to  their  individual  needs.'' 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  57 

NOTE   PAGE  FOR  STUDENT'S  USE. 


58  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 


The  Compounding  of  Rations. 

The  animal  uses  food  for  five  different  and 
distinct  purposes: 

1.  To  replace  the  waste  from  all  parts  of  the 
body. 

2.  To  produce  heat  to  keep  the  bod}^  warm. 

3.  To  make  growth  or  increase  the  body  in 
muscle,  fat,  flesh,  bone,  etc. 

4.  To  produce  energy  so  that  work  may  be 
done. 

5.  To  produce  milk,  wool,  etc. 

The  supply  that  furnishes  the  materials  for 
the  above  named  purposes  comes  from  the  food 
furnished  b}^  the  feeder.  We  now  understand 
this  food  material  is  expressed  in  terms  of  pro- 
tein, carbohydrates  and  fat.  These  terms  rep- 
resent the  digestible  nutrients  of  a  feeding 
stuff.  To  feed  these  nutrients  in  the  quantit}' 
and  proportion  they  should  be  fed  for  one  or 
more  of  the  five  purposes  cited  above  gives  rise 
to  the  selection  and  compounding  of  feeding 
rations. 

How  A  Ration  is  Made. 

To  show^  the  method  of  making  up  a  ration, 
let  us   begin  by   supposing   we   have  a  dairy 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  59 

COW  weighing  i,ooo  pounds  and  yielding  about 
three  gallons  of  milk  daily.  We  could  feed 
her  three  kinds  of  rations:  one  containing  the 
roughage  food  raised  on  the  farm,  like  straw, 
corn  stover,  cow  pea  hay,  etc.,  or  nothing  but 
•grain  food,  like  cow  peas,  bran,  cotton  seed 
and  cotton  seed  meal;  or  we  could  feed  her  a 
combination  of  these,  that  is,  a  mixture  of 
coarse  and  grain  feeds.  This  latter  method  is 
the  most  satisfactory,  safest  and  economical. 
But  how  much  roughage  and  how  much  grain 
shall  we  feed  ?  Let  us  begin  the  making  of  the 
ration  and  see.  What  roughage  shall  we  feed? 
Why,  what  we  raise  on  the  farm,  of  course. 
Here  is  corn  stover,  cow  pea  hay,  timothy  hay, 
clover  hay,  and  a  great  many  others,  as  the  stu- 
dent will  remember  seeing  on  the  page  giving 
the  digestible  nutrients  of  our  common  feeding 
stuffs.  That  same  table  gives  us  all  the  data 
necessary  for  calculating  how  much  feed  should 
be  supplied  to  both  maintain  the  animal  and 
furnish  the  milk-producing  constituents. 

For  a  trial  ration,  we  decide  to  give  lo  pounds 
of  corn  stover  and  lo  pounds  of  cow  pea  hay 
daily.  By  referring  back  to  the  table  having 
the  digestible  nutrients  of  the  various  feeding 
stuffs  we  are  able   to  proceed.     We   will  take 


6o  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

the  corn  stover  first :  we  find  by  the  table  that 
loo  pounds  of  corn  stover  contain  : 
59.5  pounds  of  dry  matter. 

1.7  pounds  of  digestible  protein. 
32.4  pounds  of  digestible  carbohydrates. 
.7  pounds  of  digestible  fat. 

If  one  hundred  pounds  of  corn  stover  contain 
these  quantities  of  digestible  nutrients,  then 
one  pound  contains  just  one  one-hundredth  or 
the  following  quantities: 

Dry  matter,  .595  pounds. 

Protein,  .017       " 

Carbohydrates,    .324       " 

Fat,  .007       '' 

Ten  pounds  will  of  course  contain  just  ten 
times  the  quantity  of  one  pound,  or  the  follow- 
ing quantities : 

Dry  matter,  5.95. 

Protein,  .17. 

Carbohydrates,    3.24. 

Fat,  .07. 

The  digestible  nutrients  of  cow  pea  hay  is 
ascertained  in  the  same  way : 

Cow  Pea  Hay. 
In  100  Pounds.  In  i  Pound.     In  lo  Pounds. 


Dry  matter, 

89.3 

-^    100 

=    -893 

X    10 

=  8.  93 

Protein, 

10.8 

-f-    100 

=    .108 

X    10 

=  1.08 

Carbohydrates, 

38.6 

-4-    100 

=    .386 

X   10 

=  3.86 

Fat, 

I.  I 

-H      100 

=  .oir 

X    10 

=     .  II 

FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


6l 


Arranging  these  in  a  table  now  for  a  com- 
parison with  the  feeding  standard,  so  as  to 
know  if  we  are  feeding  the  correct  proportions 
and  quantities  of  nutrients,  we  have : 

First  Trial  Ration  for  Dairy  Cow  WeighinCx  i.ooo  Pounds 
AND  Yielding  Three  Gallons  of  Milk  Daily. 


Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Feeding  StuflF. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Fat. 

Nutri- 
tive 
Ratio. 

Ten  lbs.  corn  stover 

5.95 
8.93 

.17 
1.08 

3-24 
3.86 

.07 
.  Tl 

Ten  lbs.  cow  pea  hay 

First  trial  ration 

14.88 

1-25 

7.10 

.  18 

Feeding  standard 

29,  0 

2.50 

13.00 

•50 

1:5.7 

A  glance  at  this  table  shows  that  the  trial 
ration  falls  below  in  everything,  consequently 
the  quantities  must  be  increased  in  order  to 
meet  as  nearly  as  possible  the  standard,  so  as 
to  furnish  all  nutrients  for  the  animal  and  the 
production  of  milk. 

To  complete  the  ration,  let  us  add  5  pounds 
of  clover  hay,  9  pounds  of  cotton  seed  hulls,  2 
pounds  of  cotton  seed  meal  and  i  pound  of 
bran.  The  digestible  nutrients  are  ascertained 
in  the  same  manner  as  before,  and  a  second 
trial  made  to  determine  if  the  additional  feed- 
ing stuffs  furnish  the  necessary  nutrients  and 
in  a  properly  balanced  form,  as  follows: 


62 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


Second  Trial  for  Ration  for  Dairy  Cow. 


Feeding  Stufls. 


Preceding  rations — 

Ten  lbs.  stover ) 

Ten  lbs.  cow  pea  hay_  ) 

Five  lbs.  clover  hay 

Nine  lbs.  cotton  seed  hulls 
Two  lbs.  cotton  seed  meal. 
One  lb.  bran 


Second  trial  ration  . 
Feeding  standard  .. 


Dry 
Matter. 


14.88 

4.24 
8.00 
'.83 


Digestible  Nutrients. 


Pro- 
tein. 


Carbohy-i    _  ,     '  ^utri- 
dratesi'i    ^-^-        -J^, 


1.25 

.34 
.  027, 

■74  I 
.  12 


7.  10 

1.78 
2.98 

•34 
•39 


.8  I 


29.83     2.48  j    12. 


59 


29. 00     2.  50      13. 


00 


09 

15 
24 
03 


69      1:5-7 


50      1:5- 


This  second  trial  ration  meets  the  require- 
ments in  every  way.  The  dry  matter  is  but 
little  in  excess,  which  is  of  no  importance. 
The  deficiency  in  carbohydrates  is  met  b}^  the 
slight  excess  of  fat,  and  the  protein  quite  agrees 
with  the  standard.  The  nutritive  ratio  of  our 
trial  rations  is  the  same  as  the  feeding  standard. 
From  this  we  learn  that  10  pounds  of  corn 
stover,  10  pounds  of  cow  pea  hay,  9  pounds  of 
cotton  seed  hulls,  5  pounds  of  clover  hay,  2 
pounds  of  cotton  seed  meal  and  i  pound  of 
bran  make  a  satisfactory  ration  for  a  dair}^  cow 
weighing  i,oco  pounds  and  yielding  about 
three  gallons  of  milk  daily. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  63 


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64 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


CHAPTER  X. 


The  Compounding  of  Rations — Continued. 


A  RATION  FOR  THE  BEEF  ANIMAL. 

The  daily  ration  for  the  beef  animal  is 
determined  in  the  same  way.  We  start  with 
a  trial  ration  made  from  the  common  feeding 
stuffs  grown  on  the  farm;  if  these  do  not  furn- 
ish the  desirable  nutrients,  then  it  is  economy 
to  purchase  what  is  needed  in  form  of  concen- 
trates, or  the  grain  foods. 

We  will  choose  for  our  trial  ration  lo  pounds 
of  corn  stover,  lo  pounds  of  cow  pea  hay  and 
lo  pounds  of  corn.  Calculating  the  nutrients 
in  these  as  we  did  in  case  of  the  dairy  cow,  we 
have: 

Trial  Ration  for  Fattening  the  Beef  Animal  Weigh- 
ing i.ooo  Pounds. 


Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Feeding  Stuff. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbohy- 
drates 

Fat. 

Nutri- 
tive 
Ratio. 

Ten  lbs.  corn  stover 

Ten  lbs.  cow  pea  hay 

Ten  lbs.  corn  and  cob  meal. 

5-95 
8.93 
8.49 

.17 
1.08 

.44 

3.24 
3.86 

6.  00 

.07 
.  II 
.29 

Trial  ration    .         _ 

23.37      1.69 

13.  10 

•47 

1:8.4 

Feeding  standard..  __  .  _. 

30.00      2.50 

15-00 

.50     1:6.5 

FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


65 


A  glance  at  this  trial  ration  shows  that  there 
is  too  little  of  every  nutrient.  There  are  almost 
enough  fat  and  carbohydrates,  but  the  protein 
shows  considerable  difference  between  the 
standard  and  what  we  have.  We  must,  tllere- 
fore,  balance  the  ration  with  a  feeding  stuff 
high  in  protein  in  proportion  to  the  other 
nutrients.  We  can  find  such  a  feeding  stuff  in 
cotton  seed  meal,  of  which  we  will  use  2  pounds. 

Second  Trial  Ration  for   the  Beef  Animal  Weighing 
1,000  Pounds. 


Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Feeding  Stuff. 

Pro- 
tein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

!  Nutri- 
Fat     :     tive 
Ratio. 

Preceding  ration- 
Ten  lbs.  corn  stover ^ 

Ten  lbs.  cow  pea  hay - 

Ten  lbs.  corn  and  cob  meal . 

Two  lbs.  cotton  seed  meal_  — 

23-37 
1.83 

I.  69 

•74 

13.  TO 

•34 

.47          1.84 
.24     

Second  trial. 

2S.  70 

'2A^ 

13-44 

.71        1:6.  2 

Feeding  standard 

30.00 

2.50 

15.00 

•50        1:6.5 

Our  second  trial  shows  that  we  are  still  be- 
low in  dry  matter,  protein  and  carbohydrates, 
though  the  fat  is  a  little  high.  A  feeding  stuff, 
containing  a  little  more  dry  matter  and  carbo- 
hydrates, and  proportionally  lower  in  protein 
and  fat,  will  give  us  nearly  a  balanced  ration. 
Let  us  use  4  pounds  of  cotton  seed  hulls  and 
we  will  have: 


66 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


Third  Trial   Ration   for  the   Beef   Animal   Weighing 
i.ooo   Pounds. 


Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Feeding  Stuff. 

Pro 
lein. 

Carbo- 
hydrates. 

Fat. 

Nutri- 
tive 
Ratio. 

Preceding  ration — 

Ten  lbs.  corn  stover ^ 

Ten  lbs.  cow  pea  hay__  ! 

Ten  lbs.  corn j 

Two  lbs.  cot'n  seed  meal  J 

Four  lbs.  cotton  seed  hulls. 

25.70 
3-55 

2.43 
.02 

13-44 
1.32 

•  71 
.06 

Third  trial  ration 

29.25 

2.45 

14.76 

•77 

1:6.7 

Feeding  standard 

30.00 

2.50 

15.00 

•50 

1:6.5 

This  third  trial  ration  shows  a  fairly  close 
agreement  of  the  nutrients  to  the  feeding 
standard.  The  substitution  of  a  half  pound 
of  cotton  seed  meal  for  a  half  pound  of  corn 
and  cob  meal  would  make  the  ration  conform 
almost  exactly  with  the  standard. 

We  can  say,  therefore,  that  a  ration  consist- 
ing of  10  pounds  corn  stover,  10  pounds  cow 
pea  hay,  10  pounds  of  corn  and  cob  meal,  2 
pounds  cotton  seed  meal  and  4  pounds  of  cot- 
ton seed  hulls  furnish  all  the  required  nutrients 
for  fattening  the  beef  animal. 

Errors  in  Feeding  Beef  Cattle. 

It  is  a  common  practice  in  many  sections  of 
the  country  to  depend  rather  exclusively  upon 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  67 

products  raised  in  these  special  sections  for 
fattening  cattle.  For  instance,  the  farmer  in 
the  middle  west  raises  corn  in  immense  quan- 
tities and  depends  upon  grass,  corn  stover  and 
corn  for  growing  and  fattening  purposes.  All  of 
these  products  are  low  in  protein  in  proportion 
to  carbohydrates  and  fat.  Likewise  the  South- 
ern farmer  uses  products  that  are  not  readily 
balanced  alone.  The  use  of  cotton  seed,  cot- 
ton seed  meal  and  cotton  seed  hulls  is  neither 
heathful  for  the  animal  fed,  nor  an  economical 
practice  for  the  feeder. 

The  Western  farmer  fails  to  get  the  most 
satisfactory  gains  because  the  food  products 
used  contain  too  little  protein  in  proportion  to 
the  carbohydrates.  The  Southern  farmer  feeds 
too  little  of  the  carbohydrates  in  proportion  to 
the  protein,  and  likewise  gets  unsatisfactory 
gains  even  by  feeding  an  expensive  product. 

Let  the  student  try  to  make  up  a  feeding 
ration  consisting  of  either  corn  stover  and  corn 
or  cotton  seed  meal  and  hulls  and  he  will  soon 
see  how  impossible  it  is  to  meet  the  standard. 

It  becomes  an  easy  matter  on  the  other  hand 
to  make  balanced  rations  by  interchanging  the 
food  stuifs  mentioned  above.  Not  only  does 
the  change  make  better  returns  in  the  growing 
or  fattening  animal  but  is  more  cheaply  done. 


68  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


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FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  69 

CHAPTER  XI. 


The  Compounding  of  Rations — Continued. 


RATION  FOR  THE  HORSE. 

The  general  facts  which  have  been  presented 
in  relation  to  the  practice  of  making  rations 
are  as  applicable  to  horses  as  to  bovines. 

A  balanced  ration  is  just  as  important  to  the 
horse  as  to  any  other  class  of  farm  animals. 
Corn,  oats  and  timothy  hay  are  the  feeding 
stuffs  universally  used.  Experiments  have 
shown,  however,  that  any  feeding  stuff  or  com- 
l)ination  of  feeding  stuffs  furnishing  the  proper 
quantities  of  digestible  nutrients  can  be  used 
in  feeding  horses.  The  kind  and  quality  of 
digestible  nutrients  contained  in  feeds,  and 
not  their  names,  should  guide  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  rations  for  horses. 

The  Horse  Uses  Less  Roughage. 

A  basic  principle  of  ration-making  for  horses 
is  the  use  of  a  relative  smaller  quantity  of 
roughage  and  a  correspondingly  larger  quan- 
tity of  concentrates  than  used  for  bovines.  This 
is  a  physiological  principal  due  to  the  size  of 
the  horse's  stomach.     In  treating  this  subject 


70 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS 


it  is  necessary  to*  consider  the  storage  capacity 
of  the  horse  so  as  not  to  provide  too  large  quan- 
tit}^  of  roughage  in  the  ration. 

With  this  explanation  we  are  ready  to  make 
up  a  feeding  ration,  and  this  is  done  in  the  same 
manner  as  for  dair}''  and  beef  animals. 

Ration  for  Farm  Horse  Doing  Moderate  Work  and 
Weighing  i.ooo  Pounds. 


Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Feeding  Stuff. 

Pro 
tein. 

Carbo 
hydrates. 

Fat. 

Nutri- 
tive 
Ratio. 

Four  lbs.  gluten  feed 

Four  lbs.  corn  stover 

Four  lbs.  corn  and  cob  meal 
Eight  lbs.  cow  pea  hay 

3- 80 
2.40 
6.80 
7.20 

.81 
.07 

1.92 
I.  20 
4.80 
2.72 

•32 
.02 

•23 
.08 

Total _. 

20.20 

2.09 

10.  64 

.65 

i:6-h 

Feeding  standard 

24.00 

2. 00 

11.00 

.60 

1:6.2 

Various  Feeds  Can  be  Used  in  Rations 
For  Horses. 

Corn,  oats  and  timothy  are  not  the  only  feeds 
for  the  horse.  It  is  the  writer's  judgment  that 
a  ration  made  of  the  ordinar^^  feeding  stuffs  of 
the  farm,  if  properly  compounded  so  as  to  fur- 
nish the  required  quantities  of  protein,  carbo- 
hydrates and  fat,  any  one  or  all  of  the  feeds  in 
the  proverbial  ration  can  be  discarded.  In  fact, 
at  present  prices,  the  farmer  can  afford  to  sell 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  7  I 

oats  and  timothy  which  he  is  now  using  in  his 
horse  rations  and  in  place  use  corn  stover,  cow 
pea  hay  and  purchase  cotton  seed  meal,  gluten, 
dried  blood,  or  any  of  the  by-products  and  can 
do  this  with  confidence  that  he  will  be  able  to 
maintain  his  farm  horses  in  proper  flesh  and 
good  health  and  mettle. 

Feeding  Stuff  for  the  Horse. 

Roughage.  Griins  in  Coticentrates. 

Timothy.  Corn. 

Clover.  Oats. 

Cow  pea  hay.  Barley. 

Silage.  Cotton  seed  meal. 

Alfalfa.  Linseed  oil  meal. 

Roots.  Dried  blood. 

Oat  straw.  Tankage. 

Corn  stover.  Gluten  meal  and  (^^6. 

Wheat  straw.  Cow  peas. 

Soja  bean  hay.  Soja  beans. 

Selecting  from  a  list  like  the  above,  the 
greater  part  of  which  can  be  raised  on  the  farm, 
there  is  no  reasoa  why  the  cost  of  feeding 
farm  horses  should  be  greater  than  other 
classes  of  farm  animals. 


72  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


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FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


73 


CHAPTER  XIL 


Feeding  Young  Animals. 

Young  animals  require  different  food  from 
growing  or  mature  ones.  Nature's  method 
of  feeding  is  with  milk,  which  contains  the 
necessary  nutrients  in  proper  balanced  form. 

Protein  is  required  in  greater  quantity  at 
time  of  birth  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of 
fat  and  carbohydrates  than  at  any  other  time. 

As  an  illustration  of  this,  let  us  take  the 
analysis  of  a  cow's  milk   when  a  calf  is  just 
born  and  at  a  little  later  period. 
Cow's  MiivK— loo  Pounds. 


Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Feeding  Stuff. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates 

Fat. 

Colostrum 

Cow's  milk 

25-4 
12.8 

17.6 
3.6 

2.7 
4-9 

3.6 

3-7 

A  glance  at  this  table  shows  that  the  first 
milk  contains  large  quantities  of  the  ''muscle 
formers  "  and  a  small  quantity  of  the  "  heat  form- 
ers." In  a  short  time  there  is  a  marked  change. 
The  protein  has  been  diminished  and  the  car- 
bohydrates increased.  This  change  takes  place 
gradually  but  in  a  way  to  furnish    just   the 

5 


74 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


nutrients  necessary  for  most  rapid  growth. 
In  other  words,  as  the  animal  grows  older  the 
feeding  rations  becomes  wider,  which  means  a 
relatively  smaller  amount  of  protein  in  propor- 
tion to  the  carbohydrates  and  fat. 

This  is  illustrated  in  the  following  table  of 
feeding  standards  for  growing  dairy  cattle. 

Table  Based  on  Basis  of  1,000  Pounds  Live  Weight. 
(Jordan.) 


Live  Weight 
Calf. 

Dry   Matter. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Fat. 

Nutritive 
Ratio. 

150 

23 

4- 

13- 

2. 

1:4.5 

300 

24 

3- 

12.8 

I. 

I '5-  I 

500 

27 

2. 

12.5 

•5 

r:6.8 

700 

26 

1.8 

12.5 

•4 

1:7.5 

900 

26 

1.5 

12.0 

•3 

1:8.5 

Here  we  see  as  a  dairy  calf  grows  older  the 
protein  quanitity  is  decreased  and  the  nutri- 
tive ratio  widened.  We  learn  by  this  that  any 
animal,  as  it  grows  older,  requires  increasing 
amounts  of  the  heat  and  fat  formers. 

Nature  Widens  the  Ration. 
Nature  supplies  the  needed  carbohydrates 
b}^  creating  an  appetite  for  grass  and  roughage 
materials.  In  the  early  stages  of  growth  a  calf 
feeds  on  its  mother's  milk,  and  in  a  week  or 
two  begins  to  nibble  at  the  grass  or  corn,  and 
in  this  way  supplies  to  itself  what  food  rnater- 
ials  that  are  needed  to  balance  its  own  ration. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


75 


A  Point  in  Practice. 

It  is  common  practice  everywhere  to  change 
young  animals  from  whole  milk  to  skim  milk, 
after  a  few.  weeks  of  feeding. 

This  is  a  wrong  practice  unless  easily  digested 
carbonaceous  food  is  fed  in  connection  with  the 
skim  milk.  Skim  milk  contains  no  fat;  conse- 
quently the  young  animal  is  robbed  of  this 
nutrient  and  will  not  thrive  in  a  satisfactory 
way.  Increasing  the  quantity  will  not  help. 
Death  will  ultimately  follow  if  the  milk  ration 
is  not  balanced  with  a  substitute  for  the  fat 
taken  from  the  milk.  The  table  below  gives 
the  digestible  nutrients  in  whole  and  skim 
milk: 


Feeding  Stuff. 

Dry 
Matter. 

Digestible  Nutrients  in  100  lbs. 

Protein. 

Carbo- 
hydrates. 

Fat. 

Whole  milk   _       .     __ 

12.8 

3.6 
3-1 

4-9 
4-7 

3.7 
.8 

Skim  milk 

9.6 

It  is  seen  at  once  the  great  difference  between 
whole  and  skim  milk  is  the  almost  complete 
absence  of  fat  in  skim  milk. 

Where  skim  milk  is  used  in  place  of  whole 
milk,  shelled  corn  should  be  used,  and  grad- 
ually increased  as  the  animal  grows  older.  The 
*' pot-gutted"  condition  of  calves  can  quickly 


76  FEEDING   FARM    ANIMALS. 

be  changed  by  using  shelled  corn  daily  in  con- 
nection with  skim  milk.  This  applies  to  pigs 
in  the  same  way,  wheat  middlings  and  corn 
fed  in  connection  with  skim  milk  will  make 
better  growth,  and  in  a  more  economical  way. 

Feeding  Young  Animals. 
It  is  a  simple  problem  to  feed  colts,  pigs  and 
lambs  in  their  early  stages  of  growth.  Their 
mothers  will  take  care  of  them  provided  they 
are  fed  properly  themselves.  Since  these  three 
classes  are  not  robbed  of  their  mothers'  milk, 
the}^  feed  in  nature's  way;  and  as  they  grow 
older  they  add  to  their  food  supply  by  feeding 
with  their  mothers  on  the  wider  balanced 
rations.  With  calves,  however,  it  is  different. 
Their  food  has  a  great  commercial  value. 
Whole  milk  for  the  market  or  for  butter  is  too 
valuable  to  feed  the  average  calf.  Consequent- 
ly milk  comes  to  them  with  the  butter  fat 
taken  out.  A  practical  method  is  to  feed  the 
new-born  calf  whole  milk  for  a  number  of  days^ 
then  gradually  change  the  whole  milk  to  skim 
milk  by  decreasing  the  one  and  increasing  the 
other,  mixing  the  two.  In  a  week  or  ten  days  a 
young  calf  will  begin  to  eat  corn,  and  by  the 
time  the  substitution  in  milk  is  made;  and 
the  calf  has  balanced  its  food  ration  by  using 
corn  instead  of  the  butter  fat  in  the  milk. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  77 

Calf  Feeds. 

There  are  a  number  of  specially  prepared 
calf  feeds  on  the  market  to  take  the  place  of 
milk.  Some  of  these  are  good  and  perfectly 
satisfactory.  Their  one  objection  is  the  cost. 
A  ton  of  prepared  calf  food  costs  from  $75  to 
$150,  and  practically  all  the  substances  in  the 
mixture  are  obtainable  at  $15  to  $30  a 
ton.  The  student,  by  using  linseed  oil  meal, 
boiled  flax  seed,  corn  and  cow  pea  meal,  etc., 
can  himself  prepare  a  mixture  to  satifactorily 
take  the  place  of  the  butter  fat  in  milk. 


yS  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

Notes  on  Care  and  Feed  of  the  Calf: 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  79 

CHAPTER  XIII. 


The  Cost  of  Nutrients. 

The  student  readily  recognizes  by  this  time 
the  necessity  of  using  different  feeding  stuffs 
to  make  balanced  feeding  rations.  The  ques- 
tion now  arises,  what  method  shall  be  fol- 
lowed to  get  the  necessary  feeding  materials  ? 

Little  discussion  is  needed  to  present  the  im- 
portance of  growing  on  the  farm  the  bulk  of 
the  materials  used.  The  farmer  can  grow  the 
greater  part  of  the  feeding  stuffs  cheaper  than 
he  can  buy  them  of  some  one  else.  This  is 
also  in  line  with  what  was  said  in  a  previous 
chapter,  of  changing  what  one  raises  (which  is 
a  raw  material)  into  a  finished  product,  the 
raw  material  having  a  small  commercial  value, 
while  the  finished  product  a  value  many  times 
above  the  former. 

By  glancing  back  to  the  table  showing  the 
digestible  nutrients  of  feeding  stuffs,  the 
student  will  see  at  once  that  practically  all 
materials  grown  on  the  farm  and  used  for  feed- 
ing purposes  are  low  in  protein  but  correspond- 
ingly high  in  other  nutrients.  It  follows,  then, 
the  farmer  can  raise  all  the  carbohydrates  and 
fat  needed  for  either  the  dairy  or  the  block. 


8o  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

He  is  interested,  then,  primarily  in  the  purchase 
of  protein. 

Unfortunately  there  are  no  feeding  stuffs 
made  up  wholly  of  protein.  If  there  were,  the 
balancing  of  rations  in  reference  to  cost  would 
be  a  very  simple  process  indeed. 

Protein  not  Solely  Purchased. 

Though  protein  is  the  constituent  we  are 
after  in  our  purchase,  we  are  obliged  to  pay 
for  other  nutrients  along  with  the  protein. 
Carbohydrates  and  fat  are  always  present  in 
every  feeding  stuff  and  they  have  a  commercial 
value.  Consequently  when  we  buy  protein  we 
also  pay  for  carbohydrates  and  fat.  It  should 
not  be  understood  here  that  these  latter  consti- 
tuents are  a  trouble  or  a  nuisance  ;  they  have 
a  value.  But  one  readily  sees  it  is  unfortunate 
to  purchase  them  when  their  like  can  be  secured 
at  home.  It  suggests  the  same  idea  that  a 
necktie  must  alw^ays  be  purchased  with  a  col- 
lar. One  may  never  wear  a  necktie,  or  he  may 
have  all  he  needs  at  home,  yet  every  time  he 
buys  a  collar  he  is  obliged  to  pay  for  a  neck- 
tie as  well.  If  one  did  not  need  a  necktie,  then, 
but  wanted  the  collar,  he  would  likely  get  the 
collar  having  the  least  necktie  about  it  and 
place  the  value  of  the  purchase  wholly  upon 
the  collar  and  nothing  on  the  necktie. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  8l 

It  follows  in  the  same  way  in  the  purchase 
of  protein  :  If  the  farmer  raises  on  his  farm  all 
the  carbohydrates  and  fat  he  needs  and  which 
have  a  low  commercial  value,  he  can  not  afford 
to  buy  more  of  the  same  constituents  at  a  price 
many  times  higher  than  he  can  raise  the  same 
for  himself.  Yet  the  feeder  is  obliged  to  do 
this  very  thing  when  he  purchases  his  protein. 
It  cannot  be  helped  and  it  is  no  one's  fault. 
There  is  a  point  of  practical  bearing,  however, 
in  this  matter:  If  you  have  to  take  carbohy- 
drates and  fat  along  with  your  protein  and  pay 
for  them,  then  you  want  to  get  just  as  little 
carbohydrates  and  fat  in  the  feeding  stuff  you 
purchase  and  just  as  much  protein  as  you  can. 
You  will  buy  the  feeding  stuff  having  the  high- 
est quantity  of  digestible  protein  that  costs  you 
the  least  per  pound  of  protein. 

The  Uses  of  Protein. 

Protein  may  be  used  in  the  body  to  do  four 
things : 

I.  Tissue  building. 
II.  Body  fat. 

III.  Material  for  the  production  of  heat. 

IV.  Material  for  the  production  of  energy. 
Since  carbohydrates  and  fat  furnish  the  last 

three  things,  and  they  can  be  raised  on  the 


82  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

farm,  it  is  not  necessary  to  purchase  protein,  the 
expensive  part  of  a  food,  to  heat  the  body  or 
keep  up  the  energy. 

''Protein,"  says  Brooks,  "is  a  flesh  former, 
the  machine  maker,  the  repairer  of  wear  and 
tear.  It  may  also  be  used  in  the  body  as  a 
fuel  to  maintain  the  temperature,  of  the  body, 
but  to  feed  in  such  a  way  the  protein  must  be 
used  as  a  fuel  is  not  wise,  as  it  is  too  costl3\ 
Fat  and  carbohydrates  are  far  cheaper  fuels. 
The  feeder  who  so  manages  that  the  animal 
must  burn  protein  would  be  about  as  unwise 
as  the  householder  who  would  select  as  fuel 
for  his  stove,  mahogany  or  curled  maple,  when 
ordinary  woods  or  coal  would  serve  the  pur- 
pose just  as  well  and  at  much  less  cost." 

Grouping  Feeding  Stuffs. 

Feeding  stuffs  may  be  divided  from  stand- 
point of  physical  properties  into  two  classes: 

I.  Roughage  material. 

II.  Concentrates. 

The  first  group  contains  all  of  the  grasses, 
leguminous  and  coarse  foods  raised  on  the 
farm,  such  as  corn  stover  and  straw. 

The  second  group  contains  the  seeds  and 
grain  or  some  by-product  of  the  seeds  and  grain 
of  farm  crops.     The  first  is  the  coarse  portion 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  83 

of  a  ration,  including  such  feeding  stuffs  as 
hay,  corn  fodder,  roots,  silage,  etc.;  the  second 
is  the  more  nutritious  part  consisting  of  oat 
meal,  cotton  seed  meal,  etc.  The  chief  con- 
stituents of  the  first  are  carbohydrates  and  fat, 
or  the  home  products  ;  of  the  second  protein, 
or  the  purchased  product. 

Practical  Suggestion. 

Plan  to  grow  all  of  the  carbohydrates  and  fat 
and  not  to  purchase  any;  and  then  grow  as 
much  of  the  protein  roughages,  such  as  clover, 
cow  peas  and  alfalfa,  to  make  the  purchased 
protein  as  little  as  possible. 

This  means  economical  and  practical  feeding. 


84  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.      ■ 

When  cotton  seed  meal  is  worth  $24  per  ton, 
what  are  the  following  feeding  stuffs  worth  per 
ton  or  bushel  on  basis  of  digestible  protein 
content? 

Corn 

Oats 
Bran 
Cow  peas 
Gluten  meal 
Cotton  seed 
Cow  pea  hay 
Timothy  hay 
Cotton  seed  hulls 
Corn  stover 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  85 

CHAPTER  XIV. 


The  Cost  of  Nutrients. — Continued, 


THE    PURCHASE    OF    PROTEIN. 

Since  it  is  neither  practical  nor  possible  un- 
der ordinary  methods  of  farm  practice  to  ob- 
tain the  necessary  protein  from  the  farm,  it  fol- 
lows that  it  must  be  secured  elsewhere.  This 
is  done  either  through  purchase  of  grain  ma- 
terials not  raised  on  the  farm,  or  the  purchase 
of  by-products  from  manufacturing  concerns. 
Bran  comes  from  flour  mills,  gluten  feed  and 
meal  from  the  manufacturing  of  starch,  and 
cotton  seed  meal  from  the  oil  mills. 

There  is  a  long  list  of  concentrates  as  the 
source  of  protein  consumption.  The  feeder  is 
interested  in  knowing  which  of  them  he  shall 
purchase.  Two  things  will  aid  him  in  the 
selection :  the  protein  content  and  the  market 
price  of  the  feeding  stuff. 

A  wise  selection  requires  the  two  to  be  con- 
sidered together.  For  instance,  the  following 
food  stuffs  at  market  prices  are  available  to  a 
feeder : 

Corn,  $25.00  per  ton,  or  70c.  per  bushel. 

Oats,  $35.00  per  ton  or  56c.  per  bushel. 


86 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS, 


Gluten  meal,  $25.00  per  ton. 

Cotton  seed  meal,  $26.00  per  ton. 

Bran,  $26.00  per  ton. 

Using  the  above  as  an  example,  which  shall 
be  selected  if  the  feeder  simply  desires  to  get 
protein  for  purpose  of  balancing  a  ration,  hav- 
ing as  its  basic  constituents  feeding  stuffs 
raised  on  the  farm  ? 

The  sensible  thing  to  do,  is  to  determine 
which  food  furnishes  a  pound  of  protein  at  least 
cost. 

Turning  back  to  Table  IV,  page  49,  we  find 
that  TOO  pounds  of  each  contain  the  following 
quantities  of  protein: 


Feeding  Stuflf. 

Pounds  of  Digestible  Protein. 

In  100  Pounds. 

In  One  Ton. 

Corn 

Oats 

Gluten  meal 

7.9 

9.2 

25.8 

37.2 

12.  2 

158. 
184. 
516. 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Bran                   _      .  .         _  _     _ 

744- 
244. 

The  above  table  gives  the  quantity  of  diges- 
tible protein  in  each  ton  of  the  feeding  stuffs 
named. 

A  ton  of  corn  contains  158  pounds  of  pro- 
tein, which  is  worth  $25.00  per  ton.  One 
pound  of  protein  will  therefore  cost  2500 
divided  by  158,  or  18  cents  +  per  pound. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


87 


In  like  manner  each  is  determined,  giving  us 
the  following : 


Feeding  Stuffs. 

Price  per 
Ton. 

Pounds  Di- 
gestible 
Protein  per 
Ton. 

Cost  per  Pound 
Protein. 

Corn  _         _..._. 

I25.00 
35- 00 
25.00 
26.00 
26.00 

158 
184 
516 
744 
244 

18.  +cents. 

19.  +     " 
4.9-H     " 
3.4-+-     •' 

10.    -h     " 

Oats  .         ._.     

Gluten  meal.     _       _     _  _ 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Bran    . 

This  table  shows  us  at  once  that  at  prices 
stated,  cotton  seed  meal  and  gluten  meal  are 
by  far  the  cheapest  sources  of  protein. 

The  same  method  is  followed  in  determin- 
ing the  protein  value  of  every  food  stuff.  So 
simple  is  it,  every  feeder  and  stockman  should 
make  it  a  point  to  determine  always  the  feed- 
ing values  of  different  feeding  stuffs  in  this 
comparative  manner. 

On  Basis  of  Total  Digestible  Nutrients. 
The  comparative  cost  of  digestible  nutrients 
is  determined  in  the  same  way  and  has  just  as 
important  bearing  on  feeding  farm  animals  as 
that  of  protein  alone.  One  is  obliged,  we  will 
say,  to  purchase  some  grain  or  concentrated 
feeding  stuff.  The  best  guide  in  the  selection 
is  the  quantity  of  total  digestible  nutrients. 
The  feeding  stuff  that  will  furnish  these  at  the 
least  cost  per  pound  should  be  selected. 


88 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


Consulting  our  table  again,  showing  each  of 
the  constituents,  we  get  the  following: 


Dgestible  Nutrients  in  loo  Pounds. 

Total  Di- 
gestible 
Nutrients 
in  I  Ton. 

Feeding  Stuflf. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Fat. 

Total. 

Corn  .__ 

Oats   

Gluten  meal 

Cotton  seed  meal 
Bran 

7.9 

9.2 

25.8 

37-2 

12.  2 

66.7 
47-3 
43-3 
16.  9 
39-2 

4-3 
4.2 

11.  0 

12.  2 
2.7 

78.9                1578 
60.  7                   1 2 14 
80.  I                   1602 

66. 3              1326 
54.  I              1082 

The  next  table  shows  the  price  per  pound  of 
digestible  nutrients  when  the  market  price  per 
ton  and  total  digestible  nutrients  are  given  : 


Feeding  Stufl. 

^^fi"'       DiJe^s'tUle 
P"'^^-        Nutrients. 

Price  Per 
Pound  of  Di- 
gestible Nu- 
trients. 

Corn 

Oats 

Gluten  meal 

Cotton  seed  meal             .  _     . 

I25.OO 
35- 00 
25.00 
26.  00 

1578 
1214 
1602 
1326 
1080 

1.5  cents. 

2.8  " 

1-5       " 

1.9  " 
2.4       " 

Bran 

26.00 

This  table  shows  that  a  pound  of  digestible 
nutrients  is  most  costly  in  oats ;  and  cheapest  in 
corn,  gluten  and  cotton  seed  meals ;  bran  being 
medium  in  price.  The  various  kinds  of  feed- 
ing stuffs  can  be  determined  in  this  manner 
b}'  obtaining  the  market  prices  and  dividing 
these  prices  by  the  quantities  of  total  digesti- 
ble nutrients  of  the  respective  feeding  mate- 
rials. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  89 

Necessity  of  Judgment  in  the  Selfxtion. 

A  mere  determination  of  total  digestible  nu 
trients  is  not  sufficient  for  a  final  selection. 
Judgment  must  be  exercised  in  the  selection^ 
and  the  quantity  of  protein  considered.  For 
instance,  we  see  that  corn  is  slightly  cheaper 
than  bran  on  the  basis  of  total  digestible  nu- 
trients. Now,  if  it  is  for  the  dairy,  we  would 
use  bran  rather  than  corn,  because  the  latter 
contains  only  slightly  over  one-half  the  amount 
of  protein.  Cotton  seed  meal  contains  just 
about  five  times  the  quantity  of  digestible  pro- 
tein that  corn  does,  and  if  they  could  be  pur- 
chased at  the  same  prices  per  pound  digestible 
nutrients,  cotton  seed  meal  would  be  many 
times  more  valuable  than  corn,  because  of  the 
very  much  larger  quantity  of  protein. 

Roughage  in  Relation  to  Protein. 

The  student  should  be  as  careful  in  the  selec- 
tion of  roughage  materials  for  feeding  purposes 
as  he  is  in  the  purchase  of  concentrates.  It  is 
often  advisable  to  sell  one  kind  of  feeding  stuff 
and  purchase  one  or  more  kinds  in  exchange. 

For  the  dairy,  for  instance,  protein  is  not 
only  desired  but  necessary.  Excepting  for  the 
corn  belt,  it  is  usually  economy  to  sell  corn 


90  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

and  oats  and  make  an  outright  purchase  of 
cotton  seed  meal,  gluten  meal  and  bran.  In 
the  same  way  one  can  often  sell  his  roughage 
materials  to  good  advantage  and  secure  others 
that  contain  more  of  the  constituents  desired, 
and  in  so  doing  cut  down  the  amount  of  con- 
centrated foods. 

If  the  feeder  uses  corn  stover  and  timothy 
hay,  he  will  necessarily  be  forced  to  balance 
his  rations  with  concentrated  materials.  On 
the  other  hand  if  he  uses  cow  pea  hay  and 
clover  hay  in  main  for  roughage,  the  necessary 
grain  material  is  small.  The  author  is  ac- 
quainted with  one  market  where  timothy  hay 
sells  for  twenty  dollars  per  ton,  cow  pea  hay  fif- 
teen dollars,  and  corn  hay  brings  twelve  dollars. 
The  student  will  see  at  once  that  cow  pea  hay 
is  the  most  economical  food,  for  it  contains 
nearly  four  times  as  much  digestible  protein 
as  timothy,  and  nearly  six  times  as  much  as 
corn  hay.  The  feeder  will  see  at  once  it  is  to 
his  advantage  to  dipose  of  his  timothy  or  shred- 
ded stover  and  with  the  same  money  purchase 
cow  pea  hay.  The  saving  in  corn  and  bran  or 
other  concentrates  will  be  clear  profit  to  him. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  9I 

On  basis  of  protein  : 

When  timothy  hay  sells  for  $20  per  ton,  what 
are  the  following  worth  ? 

Corn  hay 

Cow  pea  hay 

Cotton  seed  hulls 

Clover 

Oat  hay 

Alfalfa 

On  basis  of  total  digestible  nutrients : 

When  timothy  hay  sells  for  $20  per  ton,  what 
are  the  following  worth? 

Corn  hay 

Cow  pea  hay 

Cotton  seed  hulls 

Clover 

Oat  hay 

Alfalfa 


92  FEEDING   FARM    ANIMALS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 


Production  of  Roughage  Materials. 

Economy  in  raising  live  stock  means  the 
production  of  all  roughage  materials  on  the 
farm.  It  is  possible  to  purchase  all  roughage 
material  and  yet  make  a  financial  success  of 
growing  farm  animals,  but  it  is  not  likely  ;  nor 
is  it  reasonable  or  sensible  to  do  so.  In  decid- 
ing what  forage  and  grain  crops  to  grow,  the 
student  should  consider: 

I.   The  crops  in  relation  to  soil  and  climate. 

II.  The  crops  in  relation  to  line  of  business. 

III.  The  home  production  of  protein. 

IV.  The  growing  of  crops  that  have  power 
of  producing  greatest  quantity  of  digestible  dry 
matter. 

V.  Soil  improvement  in  relation  to  crops 
grown. 

I.  Crops  in  Relation  to  Soil  and  Climate. 

Farm  crops  are  not  equally  adapted  to  all 
soils  and  climates.  Cotton  seed  can  not  be 
produced  in  the  north  because  of  the  cooler 
and  shorter  seasons.  Timothy  and  blue  grass 
are  most  productive  in  cool,  limestone  soils, 
and  cow  peas  are  more  at  home  on  warm,  dry 
soils. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  93 

Nature  has  been  generous,  however,  and  has 
looked  after  the  matter  of  crops  and  grasses 
quite  carefully.  If  we  but  do  our  part  there 
will  be  no  difficult}^  in  providing  all  roughage 
materials  necessary  for  the  successful  produc- 
tion of  livestock. 

Our  aim  should  be  to  make  the  best  use  of 
what  we  have  ;  to  improve  by  selection  and  care 
those  species  best  adapted  to  our  soil  and  cli- 
mate; and  by  better  methods  of  cultivation, 
growing  and  caring,  secure  still  greater  yields 
and  better  returns  at  the  cheapest  cost  of  pro- 
duction. 

This  does  not  mean  we  shall  refuse  to  try 
new  plants  and  endeavor  to  adapt  them  to  our 
peculiar  conditions.  We  should  not,  if  they 
are  no  better  than  what  we  have.  If  a  new 
plant  is  found  of  peculiar  value  to  our  environ- 
ments and  business,  let  us  endeavor  to  bring 
it  to  our  service  by  all  means.  But  let  us  hold 
on  to  our  old  friends  till  we  have  tried  the  new 
and  are  sure  the  change  is  no  mistake. 

2.  Crops  ill  Relation  to  Line  of  Business. 

A  farmer  necessarily  becomes  a  specialist. 
He  gathers  those  classes  of  animals  about  him 
which  he  likes  best  and  fines  most  profitable. 
He  will  do  the  same  with  the  crops  for  carry- 
ing on  his  business.     The  silo,  for  instance,  is 


94  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

necessary  for  the  highest  success  in  dair3ung. 
Succulent  food  must  be  furnished  throughout 
the  year.  The  silo,  then,  is  the  winter  pasture 
field. 

Soiling  crops  should  be  provided  to  supple- 
ment the  summer  pastures  when  the}^  become 
dry  and  parched.  Fattening  cattle  need  good 
sized  corn  fields  for  stover  and  grain. 

The  successful  farmer  of  to-day  and  of  the 
future  will  have  at  his  hand  the  use  of  crops 
and  methods  for  his  special,  particular  pur- 
pose. 

The  ordinary  farmer  will  go  on  in  the  same 
old  way  and  continue  to  say  "  farming  does  not 
pay."  ' 

3.    The  Home  Produdio^i  of  Protein. 

The  experiment  station  has  given  us  posi- 
tive evidence  of  the  importance  of  protein  for  all 
classes  of  farm  animals.  The  gist  of  the  mat- 
ter is,  we  have  been  feeding  too  little  protein 
because  the  ordinary  farm  crops  are  deficient 
in  this  constituent  and  we  have  found  out 
only  recently  how  and  where  it  can  be  obtained. 
The  discovery  shows  that  protein  costs  money. 
To  balance  feeding  rations  properly,  we  have 
been  obliged  to  purchase  large  quantities  of 
grains  and  concentrates  to  supply  the  needed 
protein. 


FKKDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


95 


To  bring  the  purchased  amount  of  protein 
down  to  the  minimum  quantity  is  one  of  the 
most  important  questions  before  the  feeder  to- 
day. This  can  be  done  to  a  very  great  extent 
by  growing  those  crops  having  relatively  high 
percentages  of  protein,  such  as  cow  peas,  clover, 
vetches,  soja  beans  and  alfalfa.  There  are  a 
few  others  like  these,  but  those  named  are  the 
most  important  and  two  or  more  can  be  grown 
readily  in  every  section  of  our  country.  Alfalfa, 
cow  peas  and  clover  have  already  been  grown 
in  east,  south  and  west  and  long  since  have 
passed  the  experimental  state.  Following  is 
a  ration  almost  wholl}^  home  grown  and 
furnishes  the  necessary  digestible  nutrients  in 
proper  quantity  and  proportion  for  a  dairy  cow 
in  full  flow  of  milk,  and  cost  for  an  outside  pur- 
chase less  than  three  cents  per  day  for  each 

cow: 

Home:  Grown  Ration  for  Dairy  Cow. 


Dry  Mat- 
ter. 

Digestible  Nutrients. 

Feeding  Stuff. 

Protein. 

Carbohy- 
drates. 

Fat. 

Cow  pea  hay,  15  lbs 

Corn  stover,  10  lbs 

Corn  ensilage,  30  lbs 

CoUon  seed  meal,  2  lbs. 

13-50 
5.95 
6.27 
1.87 

1.62 

.17 
.27 

•74 
2.70 

5-79 

3-24 

3.39 

.33 

.16 
.07 
.  21 

.24 

Total 

27.59 

12.75 

.68 

96  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

If  timothy  hay  had  been  used  in  place  of 
cow  pea  hay,  several  pounds  of  meal  and  bran 
would  have  been  required  to  furnish  the  protein 
to  balance  the  ration,  and  supply  the  deficiency 
in  the  roughage  feeding  materials. 

Clover  and  alfalfa  are  almost  as  nutritious 
from  the  standpoint  of  protein  and  can  be  used 
in  the  same  way.  Every  student  should  con- 
sider well  the  bearing  this  fact  has  upon  feed- 
ing principles,  for  with  it  may  lay  success  or 
failure.  He  can  at  least  be  assured  that  with 
its  practice  greater  profit  will  result. 

4.    Growing  Crops  for  the  Greatest  Quantity  of 
Digestible  Nutrients. 

We  are  prone  to  call  a  crop  a  crop  without 
considering  its  productive  capacity.  This  is  a 
mistake ;  especially  when  it  is  not  a  source  of 
protein  supply.  It  should  be  our  policy  to 
grow  such  crops  as  are  heavy  producers.  When 
we  consider  the  matter  in  this  way  we  see  that 
one  acre  often  produces  as  many  pounds  of 
digestible  nutrients  as  two  acres  of  some  other 
crop. 

The  following  table  arranged  by  Dr.  Jordan 
gives  us  a  vivid  explanation  in  this  respect : 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


97 


\ 

Feeding  stuff. 

Field  per 

Acre 

Fresh 

Material. 

Dry 
Matter. 

Dry 

Matter 

per  Acre. 

Dry 

Matter 
Diges- 
tible. 

Digestible 

Dry 

Matter 

per  Acre. 

Alfalfa 

Indian  corn 

Red  clover 

Oats  and  peas 

Timothy 

Pounds. 
35,000 
30,  000 
18,000 
20,000 
11,500 

Per  Ct. 
25- 

25. 
30. 
16.2 

38.4 

Pounds. 
8,750 
7,500 
5,400 
3,240 
4,416 

Per  Ct. 

^^ 
61 

57 
65 
57 

Pounds. 
5,162 
5,025 
3,070 
2,  106 
2,517 

It  is  readily  seen  from  the  table  that  alfalfa 
and  corn  produce  nearly  twice  as  much  digesti- 
ble nutrients  as  timothy,  which  is  of  consid- 
erable importance,  especially  when  good  tilla- 
ble land  is  not  readily  available. 

5.  Soil  Improvement  in  Relation  to  Crops  Gi'oivn. 

A  good  farmer  should  always  be  thinking  of 
improving  his  soil.  This  is  wise  not  only  for 
posterity  but  immediate  crop  production  as  well. 

Crops  that  may  be  termed  soil  depleters 
should  be  grown  as  infrequent  as  possible. 
Since  the  leguminous  add  nitrogen  to  the  soil 
and  at  the  same  time  are  the  best  sources  for 
protein  supply,  it  follows  they  should  receive 
primary  attention  in  ever}^  system  of  crop  rota- 
tion. We  want  crops  that  will  furnish  largest 
quantities  of  needed  nutrients  and  at  the  same 
time  improve  the  soil.  The  clovers,  the  cow 
pea  and  alfalfa  will  be  more  extensively  grown 
in  the  future  and  will  occupy  a  much  more 
important  place  in  every  S3^stem  of  farming. 


9o  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

The  Student  will  show  system  of  rotation  of 
crops  that  involve  the  successful  feeding  of 
some  class  of  live  stock  : 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  99 

CHAPTER  XVI. 


The  Silo  and  Ensilage. 
The  silo  does  for  live  stock  what  fruit  cans 
and  fruit  jars  do  for  man.     One  knows  a  to- 
mato will  quickly  decay  if  not  put  in  the  fruit 
jar  where  it  can  be  sealed  so  as  to  prevent  the 
entrance  of  the  air  and  bacteria.     The  silo  is  a 
large  pit  that  holds  cut-up  corn  or  other  forage 
and  keeps  it  succulent  and  prevents  the  matu- 
rity of  the  plant  cells.     The  object  of  the  silo 
is  to  keep  the  forage  as  near  the  green  state  as 
possible.     To  this  fact  lies  the  noted  value  of 
ensilage.  As  we  like  during  winter  an  apple  that 
has  been  stored  away  in  the  cellar  in  preference 
to  a  dried  one,  so  will  live  stock    relish,  in  a 
greater  degree,  the  corn  plant  if  kept  as  nearly 
the   green   state   as   possible.     In   a    previous 
chapter  we  discussed  the  importance  of  palata- 
bility  in  a  ration.     No  difference  how  nutritive 
a  feeding  stuff  is,  if  the  animal  does  not  like 
it,  it  usually  is  a  failure  as  a  milk  or  meat  pro- 
ducer.    Of  course  no  one  claims  that  ensilage 
contains  greater  feeding  value  than  the  cured 
product.     A  silo  has  nothing  about  it  to  make 
more  protein  or  carbohydrates  or  fat.      But  the 
juice  is  there,  the  flavor  is  there,  and  the  effect 
of  freshness  and  greenness. 


lOO  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

Economy  in  Ensilage. 

There  is  great  economy  in  ensilage  in  the 
fact  that  a  larger  part  of  the  product  is  eaten. 
The  student  knows  that  if  the  whole  corn  plant 
is  fed,  for  instance,  the  ear  and  leaves  are  the 
only  parts  eaten.  Fully  half  the  feeding  value 
is  lost.  If,  however,  you  can  put  it  in  the  silo, 
every  particle  is  eaten.  The  feeding  value  is 
doubled  in  this  way.  The  silo,  then  assists  the 
feeder  in  taking  care  of  a  larger  number  of 
animals  from  an  equal  area. 

Another  point  in  econom}^  lies  in  the  storage 
of  the  feeding  stuff.  A  silo  is  cheaply  con- 
structed and  holds  an  immense  quantity  of 
forage  that  is  always  at  hand  where  feeding  is 
to  be  done.  Thus  the  labor  for  winter  feeding 
is  materially  lessened  by  the  use  of  the  silo. 

Wherever  high-class  beef  animals  are  raised 
or  profitable  dairying  is  being  carried  on,  there 
the  student  will  find  the  silo  and  its  highest 
and  best  use  employed. 

Capacity  of  Silos. 
The   following  table,    by    King,   gives    the 
capacity  of  round  silos  at  different  depths  and 
varying  inside  diameters : 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


lOI 


Feet  Depth. 

Inside  Diameter  in  Feed. 

15 

18 

20 

25 

20 

58.8 

84.7 

104.6 

163.4 

21 

62.  9 

90.  6 

III. 8 

174.7 

22 

67.4 

96.8 

119.  6 

186.8 

23 

71.7 

103.3 

127.5 

199.3 

24 

76.1 

109.  6 

135.3 

211. 5 

25 

80.6 

116.  I 

143.3 

223.9 

26 

85.5 

123.0 

151.9 

237.4 

27 

90.2 

129.  8 

100.3 

250.5 

28 

95- 0 

136.8 

168.9 

263.9 

29 

99-9 

143-9 

177.6 

277.6 

30 

105.0 

151.1 

186.6 

291.  6 

31 

109.8 

158.2 

195.6 

305.  I 

32 

115.  I 

165.7 

204.  6 

319-6 

Feeding  Ensilage. 

The  quantity  of  ensilage  fed  depends  some- 
what on  the  kind  of  forage  used.  An  ensilage 
made  of  clover,  cow  peas  or  alfalfa  contains 
more  protein  than  one  made  of  corn.  If  either 
of  the  former  were  used,  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
pounds  would  be  sufficient  for  a  daily  feed. 
On  the  other  hand  if  corn  ensilage  is  fed,  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty  pounds  can  be  fed,  thirty  to 
forty  being  the  average.  Ensilage  can  be  fed 
once  or  twice  each  day.  If  a  small  quantity 
is  used  in  the  daily  ration  the  feeder  can  use 
ensilage  but  once ;  a  larger  quantity  will  require 
two  feedings.  The  use  of  ensilage  should  be 
regular,  that  is,  every  day,  so  as  to  keep  the 
top  of  the  silo  fed  off  to  keep   from  spoiling. 


I02 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


One  or  two  inches  from  the  whole  of  the  top 
will  prevent  any  decay.  Feeding  in  the  stall 
should  be  done  just  after  milking,  otherwise 
the  odor  may  be  observed  in  the  milk.  The 
grain  can  be  fed  either  in  connection  or  just  be- 
fore feeding  the  ensilage. 

Crops  for  Ensilage. 

There  are  only  a  few  crops  that  can  be  suc- 
cessfully used  for  ensilage.  The  great  silo 
crop  is  corn;  and  so  much  so^  whenever  silo  is 
spoken  one  invariably  thinks  of  corn  ensilage. 

Clover  is  also  insiled  with  a  fair  degree  of 
success.  Peas  mixed  with  corn  are  also  good, 
and  alfalfa  to  some  extent.  Any  crop  having 
a  hollow  stem  generally  makes  poor  silage  be- 
cause of  the  air  stored  with  the  crop.  There 
is  also  little  reason  for  using  crops  that  are 
easily  cured  in  the  field,  like  the  grasses  and 
hays. 
DiGESTiBi^E  Nutrients  in  Important  Ensilage  Crops. 


Feeding  Stuff. 


Dry 
Matter  in 

lOO 

Pounds. 


Digestible  Nutrients  in  loo  lbs. 


Corn  ensilage '  20.9  |  0.9 

Clover i  28.01  2.0 

Alfalfa 27.5  I  3.0 

Cow  pea 20.7  I  r.5 

Soja  bean 25.8  2.7 


1  Carbohy- 
drates. 

II-3 

13.5 

8.5 

8.6 

S.7 

Fat. 


0.7 
I.  o 

1-9 

0.9 

'•3 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  103 

Practical  Notes  on  Feeding  Ensilage : 


I04  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 


Soiling  Crops. 

The  production  of  green  crops  to  supple- 
ment summer  pasture  is  more  or  less  a  neces- 
sity for  the  highest  success  in  dairying.  The 
milk  flow  can  not  be  maintained  upon  withered 
or  dry  pastures.  The  winter  feeding  of  dairy 
cows  has  been  made  a  success  by  the  use  of 
the  silo.  But  ordinarily  ensilage  is  used  up  by 
the  end  of  winter  and  none  is  left  for  feed  dur- 
ing the  summer.  Perhaps  this  is  better  after 
all ;  a  change  in  the  feed  of  dairy  cows  is  as 
necessary  as  for  ourselves.  It  is  true  also  that 
with  spring  comes  good  fresh  pastures,  green, 
succulent  and  nutritious.  Where  is  a  better 
place,  then,  for  milch  cows  than  in  such  a  pas- 
ture field? 

Summer  feeding  would  be  simple  if  the  pas- 
tures remained  fresh  and  green  until  ensilage 
comes  again.  We  all  know  that  with  July  and 
August  comes  the  hot  winds  and  dry  weather, 
and  with  them  dry  pastures  and  a  marked  de- 
crease in  milk  flow. 

This  can  be  wholly  remedied  by  soiling  crops, 
and  at  little  expense  to  the  owner.   Where  one 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  105 

has  pasture  for  spring  and  early  summer  feed- 
ing, the  soiling  problem  is  simple  indeed. 

Corn  the  Basis  for  Soiling. 

No  dairyman  or  feeder  can  get  along  with- 
out corn.     It  is  the  main  crop  for  the  silo  or  for 
soiling.     It   should   be   the   practice   to   plant 
as  early  as  weather  conditions  permit  a  small 
area  of  corn  for  soiling  purposes.     One  can 
always  select  a  small  area  that  is  early  ready 
for  the  plow,  and  on  this  manure  should  be  put 
and  disked  well   in  the  soil.     Application  of 
commercial  fertilizer  can  also  be  added  if  the 
soil  is  not  as  rich  as  it  should  be  for  the  pur- 
pose.    Plant  the  corn  when  the  soil  is  thor- 
oughly  prepared   and   when   reasonably   sure 
frosts  are  over.     The  corn  should  be  planted 
so  as  to  produce  the  largest  quantity  of  forage. 
For  soiling  purposes   you   are   not   expecting 
ears.     A    thick    seeding,  then,    is    necessary. 
Plant  in  rows   36  to  40  inches  apart  and    a 
grain  every  3  or  4  inches.     Harrow  soon  after 
planting.to  destroy  weeds  that  are  abundant  at 
that  time.     Then  cultivate  frequently  during 
the  rest  of  the  time.     By  the  last  of  June  you 
have  green  corn  ready  for  stock.     If  your  past- 
ures are  light,  begin  to  feed  a  little  corn  every 
day  and  then  gradually  increase  as  needed. 
7 


Io6  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

As  the  corn  is  cut  off,  disk  up  the  land  and 
follow  with  cow  peas.  This  can  be  done  every 
two  or  three  weeks  and  a  crop  of  cow  peas  for 
soiling  or  hay  can  be  obtained  the  same  sea- 
son. 

A  year's  experience  with  soiling  will  show 
the  feeder  the  great  value  of  this  practice. 

Soiling  to  Take  the  Place  of  Pasture. 

Where  soiling  crops  are  to  take  the  place  of 
pasture,  preparation  must  be  made  the  previous 
year.  By  this  we  mean  a  crop  must  be  sown 
the  previous  fall  to  furnish  an  early  crop  in  the 
spring. 

Rye  does  this  better  than  any  other  crop. 
It  grows  all  winter  and  shoots  up  early  in  the 
spring  and  is  ready  to  be  fed  when  ensilage  is 
gone.  A  small  acreage  of  rye  will  furnish 
green  food  for  a  month.  By  this  time  the 
clover  field  is  ready  for  two  to  four  weeks  feed- 
ing. Then  you  can  turn  in  the  feed  lot,  which 
should  be  five  or  six  acres  in  size  for  thirty  or 
forty  cattle.  With  a  little  of  the  clover  hay 
that  has  just  been  made  or  some  of  the  cow 
pea  hay  of  last  year  that  was  provided  for  this 
purpose,  to  be  fed  in  connection  with  the  pasture 
in  the  feed  lot,  you  are  provided   with  green 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  1 07 

food  until  the  early  planted  corn  is  ready  for 
the  daily  feeding. 

Nothing  is  lost  by  the  practice  of  soiling. 
If  you  have  too  much  rye,  the  surplus  can  be 
cut  and  put  in  the  silo  and  fed  along  during 
the  summer;  the  surplus  clover  can  be  made 
into  hay ;  the  same  of  cow  peas  ;  and  any  excess 
of  corn  goes  in  the  silo. 

Rotation  for  Soiling  Crops. 

As  soon  as  the  rye  is  taken  off,  the  rye  land 
is  plowed  and  planted  to  corn  and  cow  peas ; 
the  early  cut  corn  is  either  seeded  to  cow  peas 
or  to  crimson  clover ;  and  all  ensilage  corn  land 
sown  to  crimson  clover;  cow  pea  land  to  rye. 
This  rotation  gives  us  soiling  crops,  ensilage 
crops  and  hay  crops;  a  leguminous  crop  each 
year  to  add  nitrogen  to  the  soil ;  and  a  culti- 
vated crop  each  rotation  to  kill  out  weeds  and 
to  change  unavailable  plant  food  into  available 
plant  food.  All  manure  made  by  the  herd  is 
added  to  the  soil  either  in  fall,  winter  or  both. 
It  must  be  noted  a  practice  like  this  means  the 
bringing  up  of  the  soil  in  a  very  short  time. 

Advantages  of  Soiling. 
I.  Smaller  area  needed. 
Where  pasturing  is  followed,  from  two  to  five 


I08  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

acres  are  required  for  furnishing  necessary- 
feeding  stuffs  for  each  animal  per  year.  It  is 
generally  conceded  by  all  who  have  followed 
soiling  that  three  quarters  to  an  acre  and  a  half 
will  furnish  the  yearly  food  supply  for  a  ma- 
ture animal. 

II.  Fewer  fences  needed. 

The  only  fences  needed  with  soiling  is  for  the 
feed  lots.  This  is  a  saving  of  land  where  fences 
would  be  put ;  a  saving  of  capital  otherwise  in- 
vested in  fences ;  and  a  saving  in  labor  in  keep- 
ing fences  clean  and  repaired. 

III.  No  food  destroyed  by  tramping. 
Cattle  tramping  over  pasture  lands  not  only 

destroy  considerable  food,  but  so  compact  the 
soil,  especially  during  wet  weather  as  to  greatly 
damage  the  physical  condition  of  the  soil.  As 
much  as  a  third  or  half  of  the  pastures  are 
injured  by  tramping  over  them. 

IV.  Less  acreage  required. 

If  one  is  near  a  city  where  lands  are  more 
valuable,  the  investment  in  acres  is  a  matter 
of  considerable  importance.  The  practice  of 
soiling  enables  the  dairyman  to  do  on  half  the 
number  of  acres  that  would  be  required  if  pas- 
turing were  followed. 

V.  Soil  improvement  more  readily  obtained. 
Since  one  needs  but  half  the  area  for  follow- 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  IO9 

in^  soiling  methods,  it  readily  suggests  a  larger 
quantity  of  manure  by  this  system.  This 
means  farming  in  an  intensive  way  that  in- 
sures greater  productivity  of  land  and  larger 
crops  with  each  successive  year. 

Objections  to  the   Practice  of  Soiling. 

The  one  objection  to  soiling  lies  in  extra 
labor  in  growing  and  feeding  the  crops.  By 
pasturing,  labor  is  needed  only  in  taking  cattle 
to  and  from  the  pasture  fields.  The  necessary 
extra  labor  is,  however,  a  matter  of  small  im- 
portance when  considered  in  the  light  of  the 
many  advantages  to  the  system. 

Soiling  Best  Adapted  to  Dairying. 

While  soiling  may  be  adapted  to  any  class 
of  live  stock,  it  is  peculiarly  a  system  for  the 
dairy  farmer.  The  food  is  better  because  of 
freshness  and  succulence;  labor  is  always 
available ;  and  the  greater  profits  permit  greater 
care  and  attention  that  the  highest  success  may 
be  attained. 


no  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

Student's  plan  for  furnishing  soiling  crops, 
hay,  corn  and  ensilage  for  a  herd  of  twenty- 
five  cows  per  year : 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  Ill 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Feeding  Breeding  Animals. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  excessive 
feeding  of  breeding  stock  is  as  harmful  or  more 
so  than  underfeeding.  This  is  especially  true 
when  the  feeding  ration  contains  of  an  over- 
abundance of  carbonaceous  foods.  The  use  of 
this  kind  of  feeding  stuffs  for  breeding  animals 
when  mature,  causes  them  to  be  over-fat  and 
not  as  prolific  as  they  otherwise  might  be. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  also,  that  a 
breeding  animal  must  furnish  material  for  the 
growing  foetus.  This  is  blood  and  tissue  for 
every  part  of  the  offspring.  Carbohydrates 
and  fat  can  not  assist  in  providing  this  mate- 
rial. It  comes  solely  from  the  protein  of  the 
food.  It  follows  then  each  pregnant  animal 
should  receive  considerable  protein  in  its 
ration  for  its  own  use  and  that  of  its  develop- 
ing progeny. 

The  Cow. 

The  dairy  cow  should  never  be  in  a  very 
fleshy  condition.  The  production  of  fat  cells 
in  the  body  is  at  the  expense  of  milk  cells, 
and  the  cow  with  beef  tendencies  is  not  usually 


112  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

a  profitable  milk  producer.  Since  milk  is  not 
the  object  of  great  importance  in  the  beef 
animal,  bloom  and  flesh  are  desired  in  breed- 
ing stock  for  beef.  The  dairy  cow  to  be  profit- 
able should  be  in  milk  for  eleven  months  each 
year.  The  cow  that  "goes  dry"  after  five  or 
six  months  milking,  would  be  better  for  the 
gambles  than  in  the  dairy  herd.  Two  or  three 
months  preceding  calving,  the  dairy  cow  or 
beef  cow  should  receive  daily  a  pound  or  two 
of  wheat  bran,  or  four  or  five  pounds  of  alfalfa, 
clover  or  cow  pea  hay,  for  needed  protein  and 
ash  constituents  in  the  ration. 

At  Calving  Time. 

At  calving  time  the  dairy  cow  should  be  put 
off  to  herself.  Bran,  clover,  alfalfa  or  cow 
pea  hay,  together  with  ensilage  or  some  other 
succulent  food  should  furnish  the  daily  ration. 
When  calving  is  over,  cut  off  the  ration  for  a 
day  or  so,  feeding  nothing  but  a  little  bran 
and  succulent  food.  The  quantity  of  food 
should  then  be  increased  from  the  second  day 
gradually  until  the  cow  is  placed  on  her  full 
ration. 

The  beef  cow  usually  is  permitted  to  drop 
her  calf  in  the  field.  Since  she  is  placed 
under  conditions  more  natural  to  her,  she  will 


FEEDING   FARM   ANIMALS.  II3 

usually  take  care  of  herself  and  only  needs 
watching  to  see  if  the  calf  is  properly  taking 
to  its  mother. 

The  Brood  Sow. 

Corn  has  been  connected  so  long  with  hog 
feeding  it  seems  to  hold  the  high  place  as  a 
food  for  the  brood  sow.  But  this  is  wrong. 
Food  of  a  more  protein  nature  should  be  fed 
the  sow  previous  to  dropping  her  pigs  and 
while  she  is  suckling  them.  Her  food  should 
be  similar  to  the  dairy  cow  in  every  sense  of 
the  word,  so  far  as  the  grain  part  goes.  Bran 
slop  makes  a  very  desirable  food,  and  should 
be  fed  both  before  and  after  dropping  her  pigs. 
At  pigging  time  the  sow  should  never  be  dis- 
turbed, and  the  usually  ration  diminished  for 
a  day  or  two.  Since  young  pigs  are  to  be  fed 
for  some  time  through  their  mother,  liberal 
feeding  of  the  brood  sow  will  always  be  re- 
warded in  more  healthy  and  quick  maturing 
stock. 

The  Brood  Mare. 

The  brood  mare  should  be  worked  or  exer- 
cised up  to  foaling  time.  Liberal  feeding  of 
oats  and  bran  balanced  with  corn  and  hay  will 
furnish  a  satisfactory  ration  for  the  mare  be- 
fore and  after  foaling.     The  same  care  should 


114  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

be  used  in  dimiri  ishing  the  food  supply  when 
the  colt  is  born.  The  mother  is  feverish  and 
weak  at  that  time  and  should  be  fed  only  what 
is  needed  for  appeasing  the  appetite.  Like  all 
other  classes  of  breeding  animals,  the  ration 
should  be  increased  gradually  after  the  off- 
spring is  born. 

The  Ewe. 

What  has  been  said  in  reference  to  the  dairy 
cow  is  especially  applicable  to  the  suckling 
ewe,  since,  however,  the  first  growth  of  lambs 
is  chiefly  from  the  mother's  milk,  there  is  no 
reason  for  discussion  of  substitutes  for  this  food. 
The  ewe  should  be  given  food  similar  in  every 
way  to  that  offered  the  dairy  cow — succulent, 
rich  in  protein  and  palatable.  This  can  be 
supplied  in  good  clover,  alfalfa,  cow  pea  hay 
and  concentrates  similarly  used  for  the  cow. 
From  three-quarters  to  a  pound  of  grain  should 
be  given.  As  the  lambs  increase  in  size  they 
will  quickly  begin  to  eat  with  their  mothers 
and  the  same  food  stufifs  will  be  eaten  greedily 
by  them. 


FEEDING   FARM    ANIMALS.  II 5 

Further  notes  on  feeding  breeding  animals : 


Il6  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


Feeding  Stuffs  in  Relation  to  Manure 
Produced. 

It  was  suggested  in  the  early  pages  of 
this  book  that  an  ideal  agriculture  maintains 
itself.  If  the  feeding  stuffs  raised  on  the  farm 
were  fed  to  animals  and  the  manure  returned 
to  the  land,  soils  would  not  only  maintain  their 
present  fertility  but  would  become  more  pro- 
ductive. The  value  of  manure  is  of  great  im- 
portance wherever  commercial  fertilizers  are 
used.  In  North  Carolina,  over  $6,000,000  of 
commercial  fertilizer  are  annually  purchased. 
Fully  half  of  this  immense  amount  is  expended 
for  cotton  seed  meal.  We  are  taking  a  feeding 
stuff  and  using  it  as  a  fertilizer.  It  should  be 
used  first  as  a  food  for  farm  animals  and  then 
when  it  becomes  manure  let  it  go  to  the  soil. 

The  business-like,  economical  way  of  buying 
commercial  fertilizers  is  to  take  a  dollar  and 
buy  cattle  foods,  and  by  feeding  only  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  food  materials  are  used  in  the 
animal  body,  the  remaining  three-fourths  pass- 
ing in  the  excrement  in  a  condition  even  more 
valuable  than  when  used  in  the  raw  state. 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  II 7 

Double  Value  by  Feeding. 

A  ton  of  cotton  seed  meal  is  worth  $20  00 
for  either  feeding  or  for  fertilizers.  If  that 
ton  is  applied  to  the  soil,  it  is  worth  but  twenty- 
two  dollars  to  the  user.  If  it  is  first  fed  to 
animals,  the  user  gets  twenty-two  dollars  re- 
turns as  food.  But  the  animal  has  used  but 
one-fourth  of  the  elements  in  the  ton,  or  five 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  worth.  There  is  left 
through  feeding,  sixteen  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
worth  of  manure. 

The  user,  then,  has  a  double  profit  in  first 
using  as  a  feeding  stuff  and  saving  the  void- 
ings  as  a  manure  as  follows : 

Value  as  a  feeding  stufiF |22.  oo 

Value  as  a  fertilizer 16.50 

Total 38.  50 

Had  this  cotton  seed  meal  simply  been  used 
as  a  fertilizer,  there  would  have  been  a  loss  of 
sixteen  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  ton. 

Every  feeding  stuff  contains  plant  food ;  some 
are  very  valuable  as  fertilizers,  others  relatively 
poor.  If  an  animal  is  fed  rich  food,  rich  manure 
will  be  made ;  if  poor  food,  then  poor  manure 
will  be  made.  Cotton  seed  meal,  cotton  seed, 
cow  peas,  cow  pea  hay,  etc.,  are  of  distinct 
value  in  this  respect,  while  cotton  seed  hulls, 
corn  stover  and  corn  are  relatively  low. 


ii8 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 


To  show  the  variation  in  fertilizing  values 
of  feeding  stuffs,  the  following  table  is  arranged 
and  the  valuation  is  made  on  the  basis  of 
materials  found  in  ordinary  commercial  ferti- 
lizers : 

Pounds  and  Vai^uation  Per  Ton. 


Feeding  Stuff. 

Nitrogen. 

Phos- 
phoric 
Acid. 

Potash. 

Valuation. 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Gluten  meal  _     

136 
112 

53 
53 

41 
41 
71 

58 

8 

58 

19 

14 

2 

7 

17 

I 

32 

13 

7 

$22.  08 
16.  04. 

"Wheat  bran  _         

II.  10 

Wheat  middlings 

Corn  meal  _ 

8.71 
5.92 
I.  24 

Corn  ensilage 

Clover  hay 

7.84 

Oats 

Malt  sprouts 

16    j                  12 

27  1      ^      33 

6.88 
12.39 

This  table  shows  that  the  market  price  of 
cotton  seed  meal  and  its  fertilizing  value  are 
approximately  the  same.  Consequently  when 
this  material  is  used  as  a  feeding  stuff,  the 
manure  is  very  rich  in  fertilizing  constituents. 
Comparing  it  with  corn,  ton  for  ton,  there  is 
a  difference  in  the  manurial  value  of  $16.16. 
While  this  factor  in  feeding  is  very  import- 
ant indeed,  it  is  usually  overlooked. 

A  Point  in  Practice. 

It  has  been  shown  by  repeated  experiments 
that  a  pound  of  cotton  seed  meal  is  equivalent 
to  1. 1 3   pounds  of  corn,  and  that  a  pound  of 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  II 9 

cotton  seed  meal  is  worth  1.75  pounds  of  corn 
for  fattening  purposes.  Taking  this  in  con- 
nection with  the  above  table,  we  will  realize 
the  immense  value  of  the  cotton  seed  products 
for  feeding  and  manurial  purposes.  It  teaches 
the  student  this  important  lesson  :  He  can  not 
afford  to  sell  cotton  seed  and  buy  corn  as  a 
substitute,  even  though  the  latter  is  cheaper 
in  price  per  ton.  A  loss  follows  both  in  feed- 
ing and  in  the  manure  produced. 

The  Need  of  Live  Stock. 

More  farm  animals  mean  a  greater  quantity 
of  manure;  more  manure  means  better  crops, 
less  purchased  plant  food  and  improved  soils. 
This  is  the  crying  need  of  the  South. 

If  the  raising  of  live  stock  is  combined  with 
the  production  of  our  other  crops,  the  highest 
prosperity  will  result  to  the  farm. 


I20  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

The  student  will  calculate  the  value  of  plant 
food  removed  in  the  sale  of  the  following: 


A  beef  animal  weighing  1,500  pounds 

A  hog  weighing  250  pounds: 

A  sheep  weighing  125  pounds: 

One  ton  of  butter: 

One  ton  of  cheese: 

One  ton  of  milk : 

One  ton  of  cotton  seed : 

One  ton  of  wheat: 

One  ton  of  cow  pea  hay: 

What  do  these  figures  mean? 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  121 


CHAPTER  XX, 


The  Feeding  of  Poultry. 

The  various  kinds  of  farm  poultry  have 
much  to  do  with  furnishing  the  food  supply 
of  the  world.  As  the  population  increases,  the 
importance  of  this  industry  will  likewise  in- 
crease, and  the  feeding  of  poultry  become  a 
more  delicate  art. 

The  best  philosophy  in  feeding  is  to  look 
well  after  the  young.  This  applies  to  every 
class  of  farm  animals,  for  when  the  young  has 
been  started  with  vigorous  and  healthy  growth, 
quick  maturity  and  economical  gains  follow. 

Feeding  the  Little  Chickens. 

One  should  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  to 
feed  the  little  chickens.  A  day  or  two  can  go 
by  after  hatching  before  feeding.  When  food  is 
first  given  it  should  be  of  a  nature  to  be  easily 
•digested  without  the  aid  of  grit.  Perhaps  the  best 
food  for  the  early  feedings  is  stale  bread,  slightl}^ 
moistened  with  milk.  Fresh  bread  is  not  de- 
sirable. In  a  few  days  ground  grain  can  be 
added  to  the  feeding  ration,  such  as  corn  meal, 
wheat  bran  and  wheat  middlings.  Sour  milk 
or  sweet  milk  are  excellent  to  go  with  these. 


122  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

At  first  feed  often.  As  the  young  chickens 
increase  in  size,  the  number  of  feedings  can  be 
diminished  and  the  quantity  of  food  increased. 

Green  Food  Needed. 

Green  food  should  be  provided  early.  If 
young  chickens  are  permitted  to  run  in  the 
orchards  and  grass  yards,  they  tvill  find  worms 
and  insects  and  peck  away  at  the  grass  blades, 
thus  getting  for  themselves  what  they  need  of 
these  materials.  If  it  is  not  possible  to  pro- 
vide feeding  yards,  the  grower  should  have 
small  pens,  in  which  are  seeded  rye,  grasses, 
rape  or  other  forage  crops  to  furnish  the  nec- 
essary succulence  for  greatest  vigor  and  growth. 

Feeding  for  Eggs. 

There  are  many  wholesome  foods  that  can 
be  given  poultry,  but  a  careful  selection  of 
those  most  suited  for  egg  production  will  pay. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  eggs  are  made 
principally  of  protein.  Consequently  the  feed- 
ing ration  should  contain  an  abundance  of  this 
material.  If  one  goes  to  nature  to  get  her 
teachings,  he  finds  that  poultry  are  busy  gather- 
ing seeds,  grasses,  worms  and  insects  all  the 
time. 

Let  man   furnish   these   materials,  then,  as 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  1 23 

much  as  he  can.  He  may  not  have  the  worms 
and  insects,  but  he  can  find  on  the  market  bone 
meal  and  green  bone  that  become  suitable  sub- 
stitutes for  worms  and  bugs.  Green  food  must 
also  be  provided  in  order  to  obtain  the  greatest 
production  of  eggs.  It  is  relished  by  the  fowls, 
it  matters  little  what  kind  of  green  food  it  is. 
A  small  area  sown  to  alfalfa,  clover  or  rye  and 
wheat  will  make  a  great  deal  of  pasture  and  will 
show  its  value  in  the  increased  number  of  eggs 
produced. 

The  following  feeding  stuffs  can  be   used 
with  economy  in  feeding  fowls  for  eggs : 


Corn. 

Linseed  meal. 

Wheat. 

Cotton  seed  meal 

Buckwheat. 

Corn  meal. 

Oats. 

Gluten  meal. 

Barley. 

Alfalfa. 

Clover. 

Beets. 

Cabbage. 

Rape. 

Meat  and  bone  foods. 

Feeding  for  Meat. 

In  feeding  for  meat  a  ration  to  produce  both 
lean  meat  and  fat  is  desired. 

Corn,  oats,  buckwheat  and  barley,  one  or 
more  combined,  with  animal  meal,  will  furnish 
a  safe  and  economical  fattening  ration.  The 
animal  meal  should  form  from  lo  to  20  per 
cent  of  the  ration  fed.     Young  animals,  being 


124  FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS. 

fed  for  broilers,  will  do  most  satisfactory  if 
given  exercise  in  the  early  feeding  periods. 
i\s  they  approach  the  marketing  period  exer- 
cise can  be  finally  eliminated.  With  older 
and  mature  fowls  no  exercise  need  be  given. 
The  aim  should  be  to  furnish  food  that  is  con- 
stantly relished,  so  as  to  keep  the  appetite  keen 
and  good.  For  this  reason,  a  change  in  feed- 
ing stuffs  is  desired. 

Feeding  Breeding  Stock. 

Infertile  eggs  usually  result  when  the  breed- 
ing stock  is  too  closely  confined  and  fed  foods 
lacking  in  succulent  nature. 

Feeding  stuffs  of  similar  nature  as  suggested 
for  feeding  young  fowls  will  meet  the  require- 
ments for  breeding  stock. 


nwPEWT  innAKT 

n.  C.  State  Callegf 


FEEDING    FARM    ANIMALS.  I  25 

Notes  on  the  practice  of  feeding  ponltry  : 


